Srinagar: Taking the sheen off of decongestion plans, for the Nowgam-Bemina stretch of NH-44, one of three grade separators awaits a nod from the concerned Union Ministry, even as the work on the other two is going on in full swing.
Three grade separators (flyovers in common parlance) were identified on this stretch of the NH-44, in a bid to decongest the road and allow easy movement of vehicles on busy intersections connecting Srinagar city to the outskirts.
“The three grade separators were to be constructed on the Bemina intersection, the Nowgam intersection, and the busiest of them all, the Sanatnagar intersection,” a source in the Roads and Buildings Department told Kashmir Reader.
He said that the estimated cost for all three flyovers was put at around 100 Crores, and the estimated cumulative length was estimated to be around 3.23 Kilometres.
Though, the source said, the projects were sanctioned in 2018, it took a while for the necessary formalities and the work to start.
“Finally, work on the two of them was started in the year 2020 – the Bemina grade separator and the Nowgam grade separator. Two years have gone by and the approval for the Sanatnagar flyover is yet to be received,” the source told Kashmir Reader.
The commuters and the officials in the administration rue that the Bemina and Nowgam flyovers will be meaningless in absence of the Sanatnag flyover for the flow of traffic will still continue to be hindered.
“And it will be a whole lot of a mess at Sanatnagar as Bemina and Nowgam grade separators are completed, for the Sanatnagar intersection is the real bottleneck and located in between the other two,” a senior official in the administration, who travels on the road every day, told Kashmir Reader.
Kashmir Reader talked to the Chief Engineer of the Roads and Buildings department, Rafiq Ahmad, who said that a submission has been made to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
“We are hopeful that the approval will come for the Sanatnagar grade separator, sooner than later,” the Chief Engineer said, while he acknowledged that the other two flyovers were meaningless in absence of the third one, “We are pursuing the issue and are hopeful that the approval will come soon,”
Local commuters, meanwhile, say that they face hours of traffic snarls every day at these intersections, more so at the one in Sanatnagar. “We hope that the authorities take due note of this and initiate work on the Sanatnagar flyover as well,” the locals said.
Decongestion Plans Hit As Grade Separator At Sanatnar Awaits GoI’s Nod
