Construction work on a 200-metre motorable bridge over the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district has gained pace, with the project expected to provide all-weather connectivity to nearly 80,000 people in the remote Siraj area by the end of this year, an official said on Wednesday.
The bridge, which will connect Mandol in Siraj with Assar on National Highway 244, is being constructed at a height of around 100 feet over the Chenab.
Once completed, the motorable bridge will provide connectivity to 80,000 people beside the travel time to Doda-Batote highway will be also reduced approximately by two hours, Assistant Executive Engineer, Roads and Buildings, Doda division Danesh Bhushan said.
The R&B department started the construction of the bridge under NABARD (National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development) assistance early this year even as the project was sanctioned last year to provide direct and all weather connectivity to Siraj area consisting three administrative blocks — Kashtigarh, Baghwah and Assar beside Rajgarh block of Ramban district.
Bhushan said the project was delayed due to various bottlenecks, including forest clearance, but all such hurdles have now been cleared and construction is progressing at a brisk pace.
“The bridge is of strategic importance…the project has a sanctioned cost of Rs 24.69 crore, while the allotted cost stands at Rs 22.83 crore,” he said.
The project assumes significance for the remote and geographically isolated areas of the Siraj region, where communities are spread across the hilly slopes on the left bank of the Chenab in Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts.
For decades, people living in these areas have faced severe connectivity challenges, often depending on footbridges, ropeways and other difficult means of crossing the Chenab, or undertaking lengthy detours through mountainous terrain, officials said.
They said the new bridge is expected to provide a safer and more direct road link, improving access to markets, healthcare, education and other essential services while strengthening connectivity between remote habitations and the main road network.
“At present, we have to travel for 2.5 hours via Doda city to reach the other side of the river and the National Highway at Assar. The bridge will cut the journey to just 10 minutes,” Mudassar Ahmad, 27, a resident of Mandol village, said.
He said his forefathers had dreamt of this day. “I wish they were alive to see this development, which will surely make life much easier for the people of the entire Siraj region.”
Preyavart Singh, 47, of Malhori village, expressed gratitude to the government for providing the much-needed connectivity, saying that despite the other side of the river being just a “stone’s throw away,” residents often think twice before undertaking the treacherous journey to reach it, even in emergencies.
He said the bridge would be a major development for the area and significantly improve the lives of local residents. (Agencies)
