Repair of unsafe Bhandarkote bridge in Kishtwar begins

Ranjit Thakur

Doda, August 19

After a long wait of nearly a year, the work on the replacement of damaged wooden planks has begun on the Bhandarkote bridge in the mountainous Kishtwar district.

Situated just 10 km away from the district headquarters, the bridge was built on the Chenab river in Bhandarkot area of the district around 40 years ago. It provides connectivity to 60 per cent of the population of Kishtwar district.

The Tribune highlighted the poor condition of the bridge in its July 27 edition, after which the government swung into action and started the repair work. The authorities have also replaced the broken wooden logs.

Ajaz Ahmed Karaipak, a local resident said, “After the poor condition of the bridge was highlighted in The Tribune, the government immediately started the repair work and replaced the rotten wooden planks. Minister of State for Transport Sunil Sharma, too, visited the spot a few days ago to take stock of the situation.”

“We have been demanding a new, motorable bridge for the past one decade due to the increased load of vehicles in this area which connects two subdivisions,” he added.

Public Works Department (PWD) Executive Engineer, Kishtwar, Mohinder Sen said, “We have replaced the damaged planks from the bridge but the national highway from Batote to Kishtwar is under the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and they have handed it over to some other agency for further work.”