Aazan Manzoor
Srinagar, Nov 16: The much-awaited Sanat Nagar flyover, earlier slated for completion on November 15, has faced a brief delay of just one day due to the recent Nowgam blast, an official said on Sunday, adding that the work will be completed by tomorrow.
A top government official told news agency JKNS, it got delayed by one day only and the work will be completed tomorrow. The delay happened due to the unfortunate Nowgam blast.
On the inauguration, he said, “It will take a few days as Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Kumar Choudhary is in Delhi and he has already assure the public that the construction work will be completed.
It is worth mentioning, since taking charge, Choudhary has frequently inspected the Sanat Nagar flyover, expressing dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work. He had warned the contractor and officials that failure to meet the November 15 deadline would result in blacklisting. “This is not the contractor’s personal project; it is public infrastructure, and delays will not be tolerated,” he had said earlier.
Back in August, Choudhary noted that out of the total ₹45 crore sanctioned for the project, ₹29 crore had already been released, yet a significant portion of work remained incomplete. “Only ₹7 crore is left, yet such a large portion of work is pending. An inquiry has been ordered to determine how these payments were cleared without corresponding progress on the ground,” he had stated.
The Sanat Nagar flyover part of the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) broader plan to ease congestion at key Srinagar junctions was initially expected to be completed in June 2024. However, multiple missed deadlines have caused inconvenience to thousands of commuters.
In 2020, the NHAI had proposed three short-distance flyovers at Bemina, Sanat Nagar, and Nowgam to decongest traffic on the Srinagar expressway bypass. While the Bemina and Nowgam flyovers were completed earlier this year, work at Sanat Nagar continued to lag behind.
A senior official from the government also said a final structural assessment will be conducted before the flyover opens to traffic. “All quality parameters will be checked, and penalties will follow if deadlines are breached again,” the official added.
The official also said that a technical inquiry had been initiated into reports of potential structural issues at the Bemina flyover. “The public has waited far too long for this project. I will personally monitor its progress to ensure accountability,” he said. (JKNS)
