J&K: Portion of pathway on Srinagar’s Boulevard Road caves in

Srinagar, Feb 20 (PTI) A portion of a pathway on the tourist hub Boulevard Road here caved in on Thursday, official said.

The portion of the pathway, constructed under the Srinagar Smart City Project for the 2023 G20 meeting, near Ghat number 17 on the Boulevard road, caved in this morning, washing away tiles and soil, officials said.

They said there was no loss of life or injury reported in the incident.

However, the incident sparked concerns among the locals about possible land sink in the area.

“This place had already developed cracks a week back and this spot was barricaded. But, this is a matter of concern,” a local resident said.

The locals have appealed the government to look into the issue and take corrective measures.

National Conference (NC) MLA Tanvir Sadiq said it was a “failure” of Smart City Project. He sought immediate intervention from the deputy commissioner Srinagar.

“This is very unfortunate. I am in touch with the chief minister’s office. The authorities are looking into it and restoration work will start from today only,” Sadiq told reporters here.

He called for investigations into such incidents and the poor work done by the Smart City Project.

“Of course, it is a failure. There is nothing that we are proud of right now. At this moment, the issue of the smart city has been closed. These things shouldn’t be happening at all.

“The Chief Minister’s Office has taken this very seriously, so we will see what is happening. But our current priority is to restore it, which the officers have committed to starting from this evening,. They will also check other places where similar issues have happened,” he added.