J-K administration fast tracks blacktopping of roads in Srinagar amid Covid-19 lockdown

As the Covid induced restriction in Jammu and Kashmir ease, the drive to macadamize damaged roads has begun in the Srinagar district.

Taking advantage of fewer vehicles on the roads in the midst of the Covid pandemic, the administration commenced the blacktopping work in full swing. The project has been taken up by the Roads and Bridges (R&B) Department and is being supervised by concerned engineers.

"We are following all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) while doing the work. The administration has been very cooperative with us. Certainly, we are utilising the lockdown period this time," said Firdous Ahmad, Assistant Executive Engineer, R&B department.

According to him, the roads were damaged to quite an extent. "We did patching also, earlier," Ahmad said.

The aim of the drive is to make city roads more comfortable for people to travel and minimise road accidents, and travel time.

Jammu and Kashmir receives heavy snowfall which is the major cause of damage to the roads.

The macadamization of roads is taking place during the daytime in Srinagar.

"Since traffic is at minimum, we are executing the work during day time; otherwise we would be doing it during the night time. Working during the day, under the sunlight gives better results as it is easier to check the profile of the roads," said Ahmad.

At present, the blacktopping work is being expedited on Gupkar Road, Boulevard Road, Sonwar Bagh, Dal Gate and Batamaloo with heavy machinery aimed to complete the work within the scheduled timeline.

Speaking to ANI, Mohsin Rasheed, a labourer said, "It is very appreciable of the administration that even in this situation, they did not delay any work."

Junaid, a resident of Srinagar also acknowledged the efforts and said, "It is an opportunity of the R&B department to utilise the lockdown period. We acknowledge the work that they are doing in the welfare of the people."

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Sunday issued new guidelines with some relaxations in the Union Territory, owing to the downward trend in Covid-19 cases.

On Tuesday, 1,895 new cases were reported over 24 hours, out of which 633 were from the Jammu division and 1,262 from the Kashmir division. The union territory registered 32 deaths in 24 hours - 17 from Jammu and 15 from the Kashmir division.

( With inputs from ANI )

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