Posted on June 13, 2017
By Mudasir Yaqoob, Greater Kashmir
After losing precious one year to excuses, authorities have expedited the dredging process in river Jhelum for its timely completion.
Official records accessed by Greater Kashmir reveal that in May 2017, the dredging was carried for eighteen to twenty hours in Sopore. However, in Srinagar, 278 hours were lost as dredgers were not allowed to work by some locals at Zero Bridge.
Divisional Commissioner Baseer Khan said that all issues of locals have been resolved and dredging is going on smoothly. “We have resolved all those issues,” he told Greater Kashmir.
The Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department has awarded Rs 46 crore project to a Kolkata-based dredging firm. A hydraulic dredger presently at Zero Bridge pumps out dredged material through a temporary pipeline to an offsite location.
Executive Engineer for Srinagar division Sartaj Singh said that work in Srinagar would have been different but for some cases of local interference. “The work was stopped several times due to local interference. Some locals don’t allow dredgers to operate before 8 a.m and after 7 p.m. It is around 238 hours that we lost due to local interference.”
Sources informed that divisional administration has directed the firm to press in more machinery in Baramulla district for completion of project in time.
Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control Imtiyaz Ahmad Dhar told Greater Kashmir that in Sopore the progress of firm has been good.
Source: Greater Kashmir
