The story of the incomplete footbridge at Sumbal in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district is yet another disturbing reminder of how administrative inertia can turn basic infrastructure into a prolonged public ordeal. Thirteen years after construction began, the 99-metre footbridge across the Jhelum remains unfinished, leaving thousands of residents stranded between broken promises and daily risk. The bridge was meant to provide safe and direct connectivity between communities in the Sonawari area. Instead, more than a decade later, residents are still forced to rely on boats or undertake long detours simply to carry out routine activities. Students must cross the river to reach their schools, patients depend on uncertain boat rides during emergencies, and elderly residents face the constant anxiety of unsafe crossings. The delay has transformed a routine commute into a daily gamble with safety.
What makes the situation particularly tragic is that the old wooden bridge, which once served the community, was dismantled to make way for the new structure. Removing the only existing crossing before completing the replacement reflects a troubling lack of planning and accountability. Infrastructure development is supposed to improve lives, not strip communities of the limited facilities they already have. The risks involved are not theoretical. Boat accidents have occurred in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir in the past, claiming precious lives. Yet such tragedies rarely lead to sustained accountability or systemic reform. The lessons seem to fade quickly, and the same cycle of negligence continues.
Equally concerning is the familiar bureaucratic pattern that has accompanied this project. Contractors come and go, small stretches of work are carried out sporadically, and then progress halts again. Now the explanation offered is that a revised Detailed Project Report has been prepared and submitted for approval. This cycle of preparing new DPRs, seeking sanctions, and restarting stalled works has become a routine administrative refuge whenever projects drift into prolonged limbo. For the residents, however, such explanations bring little comfort. The Government must treat the Sumbal footbridge as a priority and ensure that the long-pending work is completed without further delay. Administrative reviews, approvals, and technical formalities cannot continue indefinitely while people risk their lives crossing a river. The residents of Sumbal have waited long enough. Only the assurances have been made. It is time for the authorities to end this prolonged neglect and deliver the bridge the community was promised.
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