Srinagar, Jan 14 (KNO): Two months after the vital Chadoora bridge in central Kashmir’s Budgam district was closed for repairs, residents continue to face severe hardships and are now forced to wade through a river channel daily to commute.
The bridge, which connects Chadoora with Charar-i-Sharif, Yousmarg and Pulwama, was declared unsafe in late November following damage caused by floods.
However, what was meant to be a week-long repair has stretched into months, leaving thousands of commuters stranded and angry.
Fresh visuals accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), show vehicles and motorcyclists crossing the cold, shallow riverbed as an improvised route, risking accidents each day. Though the water level has receded, the path remains muddy, rocky and dangerous.
“We are forced to move through this river because there’s no alternative,” said local resident Sofi Arshid. “If we avoid this route, we have to walk long distances and take another road, which adds several kilometres. Nobody from the administration has come here to see our problems.”
Locals say the delay has turned a temporary inconvenience into a daily struggle, especially for patients, students and traders who rely on the bridge for regular movement.
“Authorities had said the bridge would reopen in a week. It has been two months now, and they have disappeared after fencing it off,” another commuter told KNO.
Officials earlier maintained that the bridge would be reopened only after clearance from competent authorities post-repair, but locals allege no visible work has been carried out since November.
In November, authorities ordered the closure of the Chadoora bridge in central Kashmir’s Budgam district for traffic movement after experts declared it unsafe due to damage caused by recent floods.
The bridge had been shut down in the interest of public safety following an inspection by experts from the DIQC, Srinagar.
The floods had dislocated the base of one of the bridge pillars, making the structure unsafe for vehicular movement and requiring immediate repair—(KNO)