Anantnag: No contractors or construction agencies have shown any interest in taking up the completion of two World Bank-funded bridges, here in south Kashmir, even as tenders have been floated several times.
Cost escalation in the last few years is what is hindering interest in these projects, contractors as well as officials say.
Two vital bridges – Trenz Bridge in Shopian district and Rohmoo bridge in neighbouring Pulwama district – were washed away in the devastating floods of September 2014.
While most of the bridges that witnessed a similar fate now stand completed, work on these two bridges did not start until 2017, after then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti visited these sites and, subsequently, funding was sought from the World Bank.
“The bridges were slated to be completed in three years, but 5 years down the line they still remain incomplete, and the work on them is completely suspended,” sources in the administration told Kashmir Reader.
The 300-meter Trenz Bridge, one of the most vital links between Pulwama and Shopian districts, was to be completed at a cost of about Rs 34 crore. The Rohmoo Bridge, connecting Pulwama district with Budgam district’s Chrar-e-Sharief, was to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 21 crore.
“We travel to Pulwama for almost all our needs, including healthcare. The absence of this bridge is burning a hole in our pocket while consuming manifold the time it otherwise did,” people from Trenz told Kashmir Reader.
People in Rohmoo had similar things to say, lamenting that they are facing hardships in absence of the bridge.
Kashmir Reader talked to some contractors who said that there has been a steep cost escalation in raw materials over the last few years. “Look at cement, or steel, for that matter. There has been more than a 50 percent increase in the cost of these raw materials. But the project cost for these bridges has not been increased. We will go into debt if we take up any of the two projects,” a contractor from Pulwama told Kashmir Reader.
The concerns of the contractors are well acknowledged by the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC). Managing Director of the Corporation, Showkat Ahmad, told Kashmir Reader that they have floated tenders for completion of these bridges around six times.
“We have not received any response. There has been an escalation of around 40 to 45 percent in the cost of steel and other allied material,” Ahmad said. “We understand the concerns of the contractors. The bridges need 25mm steel plates with bolts that cost a fortune.”
But there has been some headway in the recent days, Ahmad said. “Two spans on these two bridges need a little work before they can be made functional and we have received three tenders in the last few days for the work,” he said.
He expressed hope that some contractor will take up the work so that these two spans are completed, at least. “Rest can be taken up in due time,” he said.

Suhail A Shah