Baramulla: A year has passed since the construction of community bunkers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district started, but the work is yet to achieve satisfactory progress.
Pertinently, in July 2020, the Roads and Building department had floated tenders for 44 community bunkers in Uri.
A local resident, Manzoor Ahmad, said that at least 14 community bunkers were approved for the Charunda belt among which 6 were earmarked for Batgran village. “The work on five bunkers is still incomplete,” he said.
He said that the three trenches were dug last October but the further construction work on these bunkers has not been started yet and the work on the other two bunkers is also incomplete. He further said that digging trenches in the area makes it a sliding zone which is a threat for residential areas.
Locals of Balkote village which suffered the worst in the border shelling said that not a single bunker has been approved in their area till date. “The way authorities have neglected us seems that this area is not in Uri. We have been left in the lurch,” he said.
Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) R&B Uri, Imtiyaz Ahmad, said that at least 20 community bunkers have been almost completed in Hajipeer Sector of Uri. “The remaining minor work on these bunkers will be completed in the next 15.”
The AEE further said that the work on other bunkers will be started soon.
