Even after passing of more than five years the mini-auditorium being constructed at Nadim Memorial government higher secondary school in Kaloosa area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district is still incomplete.According to wire service-Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the construction work was started in the month of September in 2015 but despite passing of almost 5 years the auditorium is yet to be completed.The locals said that due to the slow pace of work by the concerned department the auditorium is still incomplete."We have been witnessing the construction work on this auditorium since 2015 but till date, the R&B department has been able to construct a structure only. The slow pace of work carried out by the department has left the project languishing, " said Ghulam Mohi-ud-din, a local resident.He said this was the only auditorium being constructed in any government school in Bandipora division. "This was an asset for us especially for the student community here."The actual cost for the construction of the auditorium was 201.86 lakhs, out of which only 60 lakh have been spent during 5 years.The locals said that last year the department left the construction work mid-way and the building has been left to dogs."Several windows and doors of the building have been broken and in the absence of watch and ward, the building is being used by anti-social elements for gambling and other anti-social activities. These elements have easy access to this under-construction building,” the locals told KNO.
Students of NM higher secondary also expressed dismay over the incompletion of the auditorium saying that the construction of this auditorium in the school was a good initiative and a long pending demand of the students."Had the auditorium been completed we would have been able to conduct several cultural events, seminars and other informative programmes here which could have been an added on experience for us apart from the routine class work. But unfortunately, the concerned department has failed to complete it despite passing of 4 years, " Eliyas Ahmad, a student of class 11th said.The locals and students appealed the Lt. Governor Girish Chander Murmu to personally look into the matter and ask the concerned department to expedite the construction work and complete the project without any further delay.An official of the R&B department said that due to lack of funding the constriction of the auditorium got delayed.He said that the government has launched a scheme for languishing projects across the state for which they would provide funds in order to complete them. “We have submitted a case for inclusion of this auditorium under the languishing projects scheme. As and when the project is approved funds will be released and only then we can complete this project,” he said.Assistant Executive Engineer R&B Division Bandipora Javid Iqbal said that the work will be resumed in the first week of April. “We have also submitted a proposal for its inclusion in languishing projects. As of now, we are taking up the construction work under SICOP. The building was also occupied by forces for some time which led to the delay in its completion,” he said. He said that now the forces have left the building, the work will be resumed in the first week of April—(KNO)