The district administration here has initiated construction of over 110 foot-bridges in the remote areas to facilitate free movement of students, residents and livestock during rainy season.
The construction is being carried out under the “Rahat” project of the Udhampur administration.
The construction of bridges would substantially reduce the threat to human life and livestock due to flooding of rivulets every year.
The project has been initiated after five-month long participatory planning, formulation of designs and estimates, technical consultations, field visits and a series of meetings at various levels.
A project team headed by Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, along with Assistant Commissioner, Development, Dhanantar Singh and other senior officials of the district administration has carried out extensive planning and public consultations for the mammoth project.
Work has been started on 51 bridges under phase-I, while construction of 59 more bridges would be initiated under phase-II of the project later this month.
Apart from construction of 110 bridges in the current fiscal, 27 bridges would be constructed in phase-III, beginning April 2016.
The DC said bridges were planned in view of frequent complaints of accidental deaths, perishing of livestock and problems faced by the students in attending their schools during rains.
The project has been designed to secure education for students in these hilly areas, besides securing the livelihood of inhabitants, the DC said.
The project has been planned and executed through resource mobilisation and convergence at district level and without going for the traditional planning, which could have taken quite longer time, he said.
