R&B gets Rs 2 cr compensation from UEED, fails to start renovation process
Ahmad Shabir
Anantnag: Authorities have utterly failed to repair the streets dug up by the Urban Environment Engineering Department (UEED) for construction of the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Anantnag Town four years ago, which has even been made operational for over a year now.
The failure of the concerned department in repairing the lanes and bylines for four straight years has added to the miseries of the people, who are facing tremendous hardships while passing through these lanes.
UEED in 2017 dug up the roads and tiled streets in the entire town for fixing underground pipes for STP sanctioned by the central government under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Transformation (AMRUT).
It took almost four years for the agency to fix the pipes and complete the project, which was made operational last year.
The agency paid compensation of Rs 2 crore to the Roads and Building department (R&B) for repair of the damaged roads and streets. Though the R&B last year macadamised the dug up roads after facing strong criticism from the traders, the streets in all the localities have been left as a mess severely inconveniencing the locals.
The localities where the streets are in shambles include Kadipora, Sarnal, Malaknag, Chennai chock, Bakshiabad , Janglat Mandi, Mattan Chowk, Dangarpora and others.
These lanes, according to residents, have become a health hazard for them.
“After the tiles were removed from these lanes four years ago by the executing agency they have become a health hazard for us. During sunny days of summer the heavy volumes of dust emanate from them causing respiratory ailments to the elderly ones while in case of minor showers they turn into muddy paths making them too slippery to walk upon,” said a resident, Junaid Ahmad of Kadipora.
The residents many a time approached the UEED authorities with their grievances but a resident said, they only tell them that their job is over and that they have paid the compensation for the same to R and B.
An official of the UEED said that they have paid all the compensation amounting to more than two crore rupees to R and B for repair of roads but if they are not doing it, fault is theirs. “Our job is done,” he said.
Though the Executive Engineer, R&B division Khanabal, Qazi Javed talking to this newspaper cited the bad weather and poor response to the tender notice as the reason for delay in macadamizing the streets.
“Firstly, the weather was not conducive for repair of these damaged streets. Now that we had floated tenders for the same but there was poor response to the tender notice. We are again going to issue the tender for it and repair work on them will be started soon,” he had said.
However, three months after his assurance, these streets continue to await the repair, thus putting a question mark on the functioning of the department.
The officer when contacted again said the agency man who has been allotted the contract for the same is busy with some other work.
“Once he is free, the work on the repair of streets will be started. I think within weeks he will be free to start the work,” the officer said.
