Year on, Doda’s Ganpat Bridge awaits official inauguration

Ranjit Thakur

Doda, April 3

Though completed a year ago, the alternative bridge connecting Doda with the other parts of the state has been awaiting official inauguration by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

The construction of the bridge, which had been mired on controversies, had started in 2006 by then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The revised cost of the 263-m bridge was Rs 35.71 crore.

“The work was completed in 10 years. Although the vehicles are plying on it, the authorities have not yet thrown it open officially. We want Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to inaugurate the bridge,” said Mehboob Tak, a social activist.

“We had put forward several demands to the CM during her visit to Doda recently. These included a green belt in Ganpat and water sports activities on the Chenab to attract tourists. We are hopeful that she will soon announce new projects for development and beautification of the area,” he said.

PDP’’s Doda unit president Shab-ul-Haq said, “Mehbooba had made a number of attempts to reach the inauguration ceremony scheduled earlier but due to unavoidable circumstance she could not do so.”

Deputy General Manger of the Jammu and Kashmir Project Corporation Company, Doda, ML Thapa said, “The work on the bridge was completed in 2016 and we allowed traffic on it from January 2017, but its official inauguration is yet to be done.”

“Though more than Rs 5 crore is pending from the government, we had requested it to inaugurate the bridge officially,” he added.