Shopian: Over a hundred villages in Shopian have been waiting for four years for a hassle free inter district travel to Kulgam and Anantnag as the key road could not be completed in four years owing to issues of shifting of water pipes.
The work on a 25 kilometers road stretch that was commissioned in 2016 with the road connecting Shopian district with Bejbrahara.
The road is funded under the CRF at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore and will be completed in a year’s time, however, after four years on, locals say that only 30 percent of work has been done.
The major reason for the delay on completion of road development according to officials of Roads and Buildings Department was tussle over shifting of pipelines by the PHE department.
An official said that after the dispute was settled, the PHE department is again laying thé pipelines close to the road which will create problems in case of leakages or any snags.
This vital road connects hundreds of villages of Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag and their district headquarters.
Menwhile, executive engineer Public Health Engineering department, Irfan ul Islam told Kashmir Reader that they are laying pipelines as per the consent of the roads and buildings department. “They guided us to the area where to lay pipe lines and we are adhering to it and we can go beyond that boundary since that falls within private landowners,” he said.
Locals in the area said that even after four years, the authorities haven’t framed a proper scheme for development of this road, which has only increased the woes of over a hundred villages in the area.
“It is mismanaged at its best as the road is in a work condition and there is work on laying of pipelines on it,” Nadeem Ahmad Bhat, a local from Chitragam said. Locals said that it takes them more than an hour and a half to reach Shopian due to its deplorable condition and an equivalent time one reaches Srinagar.
The inhabitants are also unhappy over the width of the road that according to many was promised to become a double lane road with separator and both side foot paths which according to them is nowhere to be seen
“At many places they took over 40 feet for road widening and not more than 25 feet at other places which one fails to understand,” said a local.
Assistant executive engineer, Shakeel Ahmad said that the department is going to black coat 18 feet of road width soon. He admitted that pipelines are being laid close to the road which will lead to problems in the future.
Executive engineer roads and buildings department Shopian, Abdul Quyoom Kirmani said that they have taken up the matter with the deputy commissioner regarding pipelines. “The road development is going on and soon it will be completed, “ he said.

Raashid Hassan