After failing to deliver on infrastructure development due to the unrest in the Valley last year, the government is showing its presence by taking up blacktopping of roads across the state on a massive scale.
Only 30.64 km of the road length was blacktopped last year in Kashmir. Officials say that the carpeting of roads in rural and urban areas had been given priority in the current financial year.
“The macadamisation of roads is in full swing and 1,302.46-km road length has been blacktopped till August 28 against the target of 2,100 km in the entire state,” said a senior official of the Roads and Buildings Department. He said Minister for Roads and Buildings Naeem Akhtar had given instructions for upgrade and blacktopping of roads across the state.
“From city roads to link roads in far-flung areas, we are in the process of blacktopping every road without political considerations. There are many roads which have been macadamised for the first time,” he said. He said the flyover from Jehangir Chowk to Natipora, which was to be completed last year, would be ready this year. Officials said massive protests following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in July last year had halted infrastructure building as most of the Kashmir-based ministers stayed in Jammu, fearing reprisal from protesters. After Naeem Akhtar took over as the Roads and Buildings Minister in February this year, officials said, he had instructed them to expedite the blacktopping of roads across state, particularly Kashmir, where the working period is lean due to the four-month winter season. A senior Peoples Democratic Party leader said as the public space for the government was shrinking, Naeem Akhtar had been instrumental in regaining the lost public space.
“He (Akhter) has helped us to keep our slogan of infrastructure development alive. He has brought us back to the people,” the PDP leader said.
The R&B Department, which has blacktopped 4,528.04 km of road length since 2015, requires Rs 730.34 crore to meet the work done and liabilities, a senior official said. He said the department had the past liabilities of Rs 311.58 crore and the cost of the work done for the current year was Rs 400 crore.
The department has also blacktopped 206 km of road length at a cost of Rs 92.95 crore under the tourist destination programme, he said.
Blacktopping work picks up pace across Valley
