Vital bridge completed on under construction strategic Bhaderwah-Basholi-Pathankot highway in J-K

Singh, the Lok Sabha member from the Udhampur constituency, said the bridge at a cost of Rs 75 lakh was constructed in about one-year time span and the BRO deserve a special praise for this as they overcame several hurdles and challenges like lockdown, shortage of labour and other local issues during the pandemic. He said that virtual inauguration of the bridge project underlines the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that welfare projects related to people should be placed at their disposal at the earliest without waiting for official formalities or ceremonial inaugurations.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday e-inaugurated 'Puneja Bridge' on the strategically important under construction Bhaderwah-Basholi-Pathankot national highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district. He also inaugurated the 10-metre-long ‘Devika Bridge’ in Udhampur district.

Singh said the completion of the bridges will usher in a new era of development in the region. The 50-meter-span Puneja bridge over Puneja stream, 10 km from Bhadarwah town on the highway, was built by 114 RCC of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in 36 months at an estimated cost of Rs 409.25 lakh, officials said.

They said the completion of the bridge would facilitate the widening of the road at a rapid pace and would also pave the way to move heavy machinery which are required for the construction of the proposed Chattagala tunnel on this road. Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, addressed the gatherings through video-conference from Delhi after the e-inauguration of the bridges.

He said new connectivity and infrastructure projects will help Doda to emerge as a new centre of development. With the inauguration of the 10-metre-long Devika Bridge in Udhampur district, he said the 70-year-old demand of the people of the area has got fulfilled and the bridge will become a game changer for traffic issues in the region.

The minister said that apart from taking care of traffic congestion and developmental needs of the Udhampur town area, Devika bridge will also help in smooth passage of Army convoys and vehicles, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said. Singh, the Lok Sabha member from the Udhampur constituency, said the bridge at a cost of Rs 75 lakh was constructed in about one-year time span and the BRO deserve special praise for this as they overcame several hurdles and challenges like lockdown, shortage of labor and other local issues during the pandemic.

He said that virtual inauguration of the bridge project underlines the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that welfare projects related to people should be placed at their disposal at the earliest without waiting for official formalities or ceremonial inaugurations. Referring to Devika river rejuvenation project which is coming up next to the site of the bridge, Singh said this is the first of its kind program after Ganga cleaning project and shall be ready in a year or so.

“This will transform the area into a favorite destination for pilgrims and tourists alike,” he said. The land for centrally-funded government medical college in Udhampur has been identified, said Singh, and asked the local administration to expedite the process.

“Udhampur is also going to have an exclusive industrial estate to attract investments, for which land has been identified,” he said. Singh said the BRO has constructed over 200 bridges in the region in the last 4-5 years including the famous Atal Setu cable bridge in Basohli to ease the infrastructure bottlenecks.

Referring to several developmental projects undertaken in the region in the last 5-6 years like the medical and engineering colleges, radio station, National Institute for High Altitude Medicinal Plants, besides a string of road and bridge projects, he said they show a new development paradigm under the Narendra Modi government. After inaugurating the bridge in Doda, Singh said, “Despite the lockdown, we made it sure that the developmental works in Doda district should not get affected and there should be no paucity of the labor to continue the developmental activities." "Perhaps Doda is the only district in the country where not one but three big tunnels are being built at Kaljugasar, which will connect the area with Chamba (Himachal Pradesh), Sudmahadev tunnel and Chattargala tunnel on Bhaderwah-Basholi-Pathankot Road, which will provide all-weather connectivity to Kashmir from Punjab," Singh said.

The 185-km-long Bhaderwah-Basholi-Pathankot highway, besides having strategic importance for defense, will also provide a vital alternate link to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country through Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban districts. The road was handed over to BRO by the Public Works Department in 1986 and presently, the responsibility of the sector from Bani (Km 89) to Bahderwah (Km 165.85) is with 114 RCC/35BRTF /Project Beacon, the officials said.

"The road is being widened to national highway specifications and the existing bridges on the road are also being upgraded. There is also proposal for construction of a tunnel at Chattergala Pass (10,540-ft above the sea level) on this road to ensure the all-weather connectivity to the Kashmir valley from the Punjab region," Commander 35 Border Roads Task Force of BRO H Murthy said. Once the road is completed, he said, almost half of the traffic coming from Pathankot going towards Kashmir would move through this road since the distance will reduce by about 120 km from the existing Jammu-Srinagar road.

“This will give opportunity to the local population to start their own businesses and will lead to the overall development of the area which is rich in natural resources and has hydro-power generation potential,” Murty said. DG, BRO, Lt Gen Harpal Singh, municipal commissioners and DCs of Udhampur and Doda, members of civil society and BRO and personnel also attended the function to inaugurate the bridges.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)