Abdul Basit
Bandipora, April 27: The first roads to the most remote village of Bandipora district-Vewan- collapsed only after four years thus pushing the village back to stone ages.
Despite spending crores of rupees on the project, the road collapse has left villagers furious, with many alleging the use of substandard material in its construction and not following proper engineering model.
The road was built to connect Vewan village to the main town of Bandipora and was expected to bring relief to villagers who had previously faced difficulties due to the lack of road connectivity. However, the collapse has pushed them back to gorund zero.
According to reports, the road's construction was carried out by a private contractor who was awarded the project by the government. It is alleged that the contractor used substandard material in the construction of the road, leading to its collapse.
Locals claim that the contractor used sub stabndard material besides not taking any technical support from engineers ad several locals had forecasted that road cant stand the inclement weather as no protection walls were constructed to make road stronger.
“We wonder how engineering wing gave green signal to the contractor who was working on the road. Even a layman could see the engineering hazard,” said Nisar Ahmad, visitor to the village.
Following the road's collapse, locals have staged protests against the government and the contractor, demanding action against those responsible for the mishap.
The locals urged the Lieutenant Governor to investigate the matter and fix responsibility and make it a test case for all other upcoming projects where no technical support is sought.
They have accused the government of ignoring their complaints about the use of substandard material and allowing the contractor to get away with shoddy work.
In response to the incident, a team of experts has also been sent to the site to investigate the matter and determine the cause of the road's collapse.
The incident has raised concerns about the quality of infrastructure projects being carried out in the region. The government has been urged to take strict measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again in the future.
Meanwhile officials from the PMGSY department said that the maintenance of the road will be done as soon as possible. The road had been damaged due to the landslide in the area.
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