Terming safety bunkers as vital to keep them safe during cross-border firing and shelling, the people of Poonch district have demanded the speeding up of the construction of bunkers.
“The project of bunkerconstruction was approved by the Union government two years ago, but the workremained confined to papers only. As the contractors did not showcase interestin the tenders, the government later shifted the construction of bunkers toRural Development department,” the residents said.
Officials told Greater Kashmirthat 1388 bunkers are to be constructed in Poonch district, out of which only35 percent have been completed so far.
811 bunkers are to be constructedby Public Works department, while 577 have been allotted to Rural Developmentdepartment.
Sarpanch Shahpur Kirni, MoulanaSayeed Ahmed Habib, said that the bunker construction is moving at snail’space.
He demanded immediate completionof work in all those villages which fall in the direct firing range.
On being contacted, AssistantCommissioner Development, Poonch, Abdul Quyoom Mir said that the constructionof bunkers is going on at full pace and will be completed at an earliest.