Srinagar, Apr 16,: The incompletion of the Gandabal-Batawara bridge in Srinagar outskirts has come to light again after the boat capsizing tragedy on Tuesday morning.
As per official figures, six bodies have been retrieved so far, while an operation to locate the missing victims is underway. Among the dead are school-going children.
“One day these kids went to school and never returned. A smart city doesn’t mean making wider footpaths and LED lighting. This place is 4 km away from Lal Chowk and the construction of the footbridge wasn’t completed in a decade. We demand investigation and strict action,” wrote a netizen on social media after the tragedy.
Reports said that a mother along with her two sons also died in this boat capsizing tragedy.
After the tragedy, the incomplete bridge connecting areas like Lasjan, Soiteng, and Padhshahibagh to Batawara came into focus and all the mourners lamented the Government’s lackadaisical approach towards the construction of this “vital connecting link” and accused them of showing an indifferent attitude towards the people of the area.
Scores of children from Gandabal and adjoining areas study at Army School Badami Bagh who have no access to the road to reach the school. Parents ferry these children to school in boats. Locals cross the river Jehlum to reach the other side every day and the adverse weather hardly matters to them.
An eyewitness from UP, who is a sand digger told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that he saw a big boat crossing the river on Tuesday morning. “The flow of the water was high due to incessant rains. There were 15 to 20 people in the boat. The boat was tied to a rope that broke away and the boat collided with an angle of the bridge. We managed to save three children including a girl and the rest of them drowned,” he said.
After the tragedy, even those who were at the helm of affairs in the past have been appealing to LG Manoj Sinha to initiate an inquiry as to why the work on this bridge was not completed even after the expiry of over a decade.
As per locals, the work on this vital bridge was repeatedly delayed due to various factors such as lack of funds, political instability, and adverse weather conditions.
“In Kashmir Valley, not a single project is being completed within the deadline. There are scores of such examples where vital projects missed deadlines. It’s a sheer example of official neglect,” said a local from Gandabal adding that this Gandabal-Batwara bridge was meant to ease their sufferings but it has caused more inconvenience to the local populace.
The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by Nayeem Akhtar in 2017 during PDP-BJP rule. Akhtar in a Tweet said: “These deaths are on somebody’s hands. Remember the day when I laid the foundation stone of this footbridge and the happy faces around us celebrating the fulfillment of a long pending demand? It was fully funded. But then the #vikas took over. Heartbreaking loss.”
Pertinently, Jammu Kashmir came under Central rule in 2018.
National Conference patron Dr Farooq Abdullah while talking to reporters on the tragedy said: “ I regret to say that Omar (Abdullah) had announced to construct a bridge at the (accident) site. However, it couldn’t be completed till today. The present administration, which spent crores on G20, didn’t give any importance to this requirement. They are still not bothered about it. This shows what kind of management we have.”
After the tragedy, several politicians have requested the present dispensation to initiate an inquiry at the earliest to ascertain reasons for the inordinate delay in the completion Gandabal-Batawara bridge.
