Bhaderwah- Bhasoli road still farfetched dream

GREF not very serious about its completion
SHEIKH NASIR
Bhaderwah: Thirty five years on, Bhaderwah -Bhasoli road is still a far fetched dream as the executing agency GREF seems not be very serious about completing this vital link, deemed as very important for promoting tourism in the virgin valley of Bhaderwah, popularly known as Chotta Kashmir.
Surprisingly, while on the one hand the government is making concerted efforts for bringing the Bhaderwah area on the country’s tourist map, it is paying little attention towards the road which could prove a path breaker in taping the huge tourism potential of the area.
The distance to Bani from Bhaderwah through this under construction road is 79, while it is only 165 kilometer upto Bhasoli.
The road is also being projected as an alternate link to the Valley, starting from Lakhanpur- Bhasoli- Bani – Bhaderwah – Kishtwar to South Kashmir Islamabad district.
The road circuit proposed to connect three districts of Kathua , Doda and Kishtwar of Jammu region would not only reduce the distance to the valley for the tourists entering the state, but also give exposure to the places of tourist attraction along the route, including Sarthal in Kathua and Chatragal, Guldandi , basti, Thanthera, Basti , Nalthi and along onward journey from Bahderwah to Kishtwar and places along Kishtwar to the Valley.
But unrelenting delay in the completion of the road is causing huge loss to the people of these areas by denying them the dividends of lucrative tourism industry.
Interestingly, the fate of this road is hanging in balance from the day then chief minister, Bakhshi Ghulam Ahmed laid its foundation in the year 1974.
Recently, Ghulam Nabi Azad, during his stint as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, evinced great interest by allocating adequate funds for its early completion. For his extra attention towards the road, Azad also evoked resentment from the people of other areas.
However, off late, due to unknown reasons, the road has totally lost the attention of authorities at the helm of affairs.
The GREF which is presently executing the construction work on the road seems not be much serious about the completion of the project.
When contacted, the GREF authorities said that presently it is working on a small portion of the road as there were some hitches in taking up the work on massive level. They said that the road would be completed in all respects only in next one and a half year.