BANDIPORA: Road construction work resumed in Bandipora district within days of Kashmir Times publishing "Unfinished Roads Leave Bandipora Residents Stranded" on May 19, 2025, ending an 18-month stalemate on two NABARD-funded projects worth Rs 10.47 crore.
Residents who had sacrificed apple orchards for the promised infrastructure expressed relief as construction machinery returned to sites where locals had endured deteriorating conditions despite repeated appeals to authorities.
"For more than a year we kept asking for help, but nobody listened. Then 'Kashmir Times' published the report, and within days the road work started again," said Danish Ahmad, a Binlipora resident who gave up his orchard for the project.
Government officials reportedly demanded immediate progress updates following the media coverage, with contractors now working on drain repairs and gravel laying on both the Halmatpora-Peer Baba Ziyarat route and the Ganie Mohalla-Halmatpora stretch, demonstrating how public scrutiny achieved what bureaucratic channels had failed to deliver.
The two roads that were delayed include the one from PMGSY Halmatpora to Peer Baba Ziyarat in Binlipora, and another 3-kilometer stretch from Ganie Mohalla Aloosa to Halmatpora. These roads were supposed to be built under a government scheme called NABARD.
Because of the delay, people have to walk through mud and rough tracks. Patients, students, and old people suffer the most.
“Now we can see workers and trucks again. It gives us hope,” said Umar Farooq, another local.
“We want the administration to hold meetings every month and share the progress with us. This is not just about roads, it’s about our trust in the government,” said Irfan Ahmad, a local resident.
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