Tussle between govt depts, MC Sopore over snow clearance work in Sopore Town
R&B and Mechanical department did not carry out snow clearance work in town, allege locals
Photo: Adnan Fayaz Dar
SOPORE, JANUARY 05: With Kashmir valley receiving a fresh spell of widespread snow on Friday, the road connectivity all across the region remained mostly affected on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the residents of Sopore town alleged that the local administration did not bother to clear the snow from the roads and thereby the residents were left at God’s mercy.
According to the locals, massive disruption of traffic movement was witnessed all across the town.
“The officials of Roads and Building (R&B) and Mechanical departments failed to show their presence during snow clearance work in the town, however Municipal Council (MC) Sopore had put a good number of its sweepers and employees on job,” they said.
A group of locals hailing from Mahrajpora, Shercolony, New Colony, Model Town and other areas of the town told ‘Kashmir Images’ that authorities have not cleared snow from the roads of their respective areas.
“We were asked that snow from all roads of town will be cleared at an earliest but when nothing was done till 4m, we began to clear the snow from the roads on our own”, said a resident of Model Town Sopore, Ali Mohammad Dar.
Besides failing to carry out snow clearance work in Sopore town, snow was partially cleared from the main roads of around 30 villages in Zaingair area while link roads continued to remain blocked when this report was being filled.
Meanwhile, a tussle broke out between the officials of R&B, Mechanical department and Sopore Municipal Council over snow clearance work.
Speaking to ‘Kashmir Images’ Executive Officer (EO) MC Sopore, Abdul Latief Mir said that MC Sopore had pressed four snow clearing machines into service in the Town. “All our employees did a wonderful job by removing snow all across the town to ensure hassle free traffic movement,” he said.
“Our job was to clear the link roads only, while as R&B and Mechanical department failed to clear the main roads in the town which led to massive crises in the town,” the EO added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Baramulla, Dr Nisar Naqash, visited the town and took stock of the situation and warned the local officials about strict action if they failed to resolve the day-to-day issues of locals.
When contacted Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Sopore, Ashiq Hussain Lilly said: “All roads in Sopore town have been cleared.”
When asked that locals are alleging that R&B and Mechanical department did not carry out snow clearance work in Sopore town, without saying anything, the officer dropped the phone call.
