Schoolchildren risk lives crossing Rajouri’s ramshackle bridge
Jammu: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, school children in Kot Dhara, Ward No. 9, Sanga, are being forced to risk their lives daily crossing a rain-fed stream after authorities left a bridge project incomplete, exposing blatant apathy.
According to Kashmir Media Service, residents of around four to six wards depend on the bridge over the local ‘Kass’ stream to reach schools and colleges. With only pillars and stairs constructed and the slab missing, students, elderly people and other residents have no choice but to wade through the watercourse.
During the monsoon, the stream swells suddenly, turning the crossing into a death trap. “During heavy rains, the stream can rise rapidly, creating the risk of a major accident,” said research scholar Sarfaraz Bukhari, who passes through the area regularly.
Most of the children using the route belong to economically weaker families with no alternative road. Former Sarpanch Sakina Akhter said Rs 20 lakh was sanctioned under the Tribal Sub-Plan and the work was allotted to a contractor.
“Only the pillars and stairs were constructed, while the flooring/slab of the bridge remains incomplete. After the construction work was stopped midway, no serious attention was paid to the issue,” she said. Nearly 2,000 people are affected, including students from around eight schools and colleges.
Parents say they live in constant fear during the rainy season. Despite repeated pleas, authorities failed to resume work.
incomplete bridge stands as another example of developmental neglect in Line of Control areas, where official promises fail to translate into basic safety for citizens.
