Minister for Public Works Naeem Akhtar today said that the work on the prestigious Bandipora-Srinagar road is apace and once completed it will start reverse migration of people who had left Bandipora due to bad road problem.The Minister while on a tour to Bandipora reviewed the work on the road project. He expressed his appreciation over the quality work being done. He said that people need to have patience as government is building a road right from Sonarwani to Srinagar with such specifications that it won’t need any repairs for next ten years.The Minister said that large number of people had to leave Bandipora as they couldn’t commute to Srinagar on a daily basis due to the condition of the road. “Now when the road will be completed I hope many people will come back to live in Bandipora as they can daily commute to their work,” said Akhtar.The Minister inaugurated an additional accommodation block at GHSS Aragam Bandipora at a cost of Rs 97.63 lacs. MLA Bandipora Usman Abdul Majid and Deputy Commissioner Bandipora were also present on the occasion.
The Minister said that all the problems faced by the people with regards to educational needs will be addressed. He also directed the officials to repair the old building of the school and make provision for an auditorium on the top storey. A borewell for dependable water supply and fencing of school premises will also be constructed.While addressing people, the Minister called on the youth to benefit from various government schemes to earn their livelihood. He said that the government will soon establish a Honey Cluster comprising of five villages in the area to tap into the huge potential of quality honey production in the district. He said that it will give employment to a large number of people in the area.Later the Minister laid the foundation stone of a bridge to be built over Arin Nallah. The 4X25 m span plate girder bridge (single lane) will be constructed at a cost of Rs 7.89 crore in two working seasons. The Minister said that the bridge will connect Arin with Bapora and benefit 18000 people living in the area.Various delegations also met the Minister and apprised him of their problems. The Minister gave on the spot directions to redress their grievances at the earliest.