KL Report
SRINAGAR
With shabby conditions of roads in Kashmir giving tough time to the vehicular and pedestrian movement, the state government has set 10-days of deadline to repair all roads in the valley.
Sources privy to this development told KNS that if the weather conditions improve, the R&B department would work on ‘war-footing’ basis and would repair all the roads which the recent rains have left in shambles.
They said that all the internal branches of the R&B have been asked to remain on tenterhooks and identify the locations wherein immediate restoration of the roads is needed. Also, various vital road links which are at present dominated by the potholes are being repaired.
A senior official told KNS that the government has set a deadline of 10 days to repair all roads across Kashmir valley which have been damaged due to the recent rainfall.
During the repair works, sources said, quality control department is also being taken on board so that the material used in such works passes the high quality tests. “There are the strict directions that no low quality material should be used in repair works and that the restoration done at present must last for at least for the next six months.”
Sources revealed that the concerned department is keeping close eye over the weather conditions so that the restoration measures are initiated in a shortest possible time and in better weather conditions.
Earlier the works minister Altaf Bukhari had stated that there can be no compromise on the quality of roads in the state, the Minister for Public Works stressed on the importance of having best roads in the State. “There are several models across the country for us to look at. Even international best practices can be incorporated. We should become a model state for having the best roads and your sincere cooperation is solicited for this objective,” he emphasized.
Bukhari asked the hot mix plant owners to work in accordance with the methods and follow the designs of the projects of public works while going by the technical standards of good quality.
He said in past Public Works Ministry has received lots of complaints for failing to effectively maintain roads in the State with residents of several towns demonstrating their displeasure. “Some concerns, genuinely so, have been raised regarding the quality of materials used by contractors employed to fix the roads. Let us forget about past and work jointly to make a mark in the history of this department,” Bukhari said.
