Vital bridge in Langate remains in ruins, residents say situation worsening

Kupwara, Jun 16: Months after the issue was highlighted, the damaged ‘Dand Kedal’ bridge in main town Langate continues to remain in disrepair condition and no visible progress on its restoration has been taken in hand by the concerned authorities, leaving thousands of residents helpless.

The bridge which is considered a crucial link for dozens of villages has seen no improvement since a detailed report regarding it was last published. According to locals, despite repeated appeals the concerned department has miserably failed to initiate repair work. “We had hoped things would improve after the issue was brought into notice earlier but nothing has changed. The condition of the bridge is the same as it used to be earlier, only the difficulties have increased manifold,” they added.

Locals said that the damaged bridge has caused disruption which has severely affected daily life. “The school children, farmers, employees, and patients are forced to take longer routes to reach Langate and adjoining areas,” said Bilal Ahmad, a local.

Students of Boys Higher Secondary School Langate while talking to this correspondent said that the rising transport fare has added to their burden. Farmers also voiced their concern over prolonged delay in repairment of the bridge, causing them severe hardships. “Transporting tools and produce has become costly due to the longer route. Even urgent agricultural works get delayed,” said Shakeel Ahmad, a local farmer.

Locals said that they went from pillar to post to get their grievance redressed but nothing has been done so far in this regard. They expressed disappointment over the administrative inaction and demanded that the repair work on the said bridge may be taken in hand immediately. Residents have once again sought district administration’s to treat the matter as urgent and initiate repair work without further delay, saying that more than forty thousand people are affected daily due to lack of the facility.

Earlier, the then Executive Engineer Roads and Buildings (R&B) Division Langate had stated that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was submitted nearly two years ago and that work would begin after funds were sanctioned. Meanwhile, Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) Langate Shiekh Khursheed told Greater Kashmir that he has already taken up the issue with the concerned authorities and was hopeful that the repair work would be taken up very soon.