The strategic roads project of the Border Roads Organisation(BRO) to build a network of roads in Jammu & Kashmir which shares two crucial borders with Pakistan and China is adversely affected due to the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir valley which started more than two months back after the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani.
Construction season in the crucial border State is generally in summer months as harsh winter coupled with snowfall hampers building activity. Spokesman of Udhampur based Northern Command headquarters Col SD Goswami said the BRO has suffered loss of more than three months of working season this year and it is a matter of “serious concern.”
While efforts are on to execute work whenever possible but owing to restrictions on movement of vehicles and persons due to curfew and protests, desired progress could not be made and as a result many appreciated targets perforce will have to be revised, BRO officials said.
Giving some examples, they said four-laning works on Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri scheduled for completion by July this year was delayed. Similarly, handing over of road Sinathan Pass-Anantnag to National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) will be postponed as the pending work on this road will now go beyond the target of September.
Col Goswami confirmed many vehicles and road building equipment were damaged and their non-availability will directly affect the work efficiency. The most affected locations to suffer delay or loss of working days include Tangdhar, Anantnag, Kupwara and Bandipur sectors, officials said.
Moreover, majority of the non-local work force from the Valley have moved out of the State in search of their livelihood due to continuous disturbance in the state. Movement and shifting of the material to forward areas also hampered the work in ladakh region which will severely impinge on the completion of strategic roads and spending of allotted funds, they admitted.
In all 73 roads comprise the strategic road project which started more than ten years back to improve connectivity in border-states facing China and Pakistan. Most of these roads are in ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh and as it is only 25 roads have been completed that too after repeated delays.
In comparison, China has built all weather roads right up to the line of Actual Control(lAC) in its territory opposite ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh thereby ensuring unhindered logistical chain. On the other hand, Indian troops have to march for three to four days to reach forward posts on the lAC from the nearest road head due to lack of infrastructure.
Official sources in J&K Government told The Pioneer, “The Public Works and Roads and Buildings department of the State Government too have been facing many hardships in executing works on vital road links.”