Ring Road project likely to miss Jan 2021 deadline

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 27

The slow pace of work on the prestigious Jammu Ring Road project is likely to delay its completion as only 27 per cent work has been executed in the last 19 months of its commencement.

The executing agency, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has fixed January 2021 deadline to complete the project.

The foundation stone for the 58.25-km-long Jammu ring road was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 19 last year.

The road will start from Raya Morh on the NH-44 (Pathankot-Jammu highway) in Samba district and end at Jagti on the NH-44 after passing through Bishnah, RS Pura, Mandal, Marh and Kot Bhalwal with two tunnels and six flyovers.

The NHAI, which has given the contract of the road to Gayatri Projects Ltd, completed 16 per cent work in the first five months but later, the pace of work slowed down and now, only 27 per cent work has been completed.

According to NHAI, the main reason behind the slow pace was the restrictions imposed after August 5 when the Article 370 was abrogated.

“There were different reasons behind the slow pace of work. Mainly, it was due to shortage of labour as labourers had left Jammu after August 5. Later, the contractor brought the labour but the rainy season started,” said Ajay Kumar, Project Director, NHAI, Jammu. “We are working hard to complete it on time. However, it may face some delay,” he added.

The idea behind the construction of the road was to decongest Jammu city. The project will cost Rs 1,891 crore. The Ring Road in Jammu will also hold a strategic importance from the defence point of view as the road will ensure congestion-free movement of defence vehicles at the time of an emergency.

It will pass as close as 2.5 km from the International Border (IB) with Pakistan in the Marh constituency of Jammu district.