HYDER PORA FLYOVER BREACHES Azad’s residence security, colony privacy undefined 2 yrs on, Govt sleeps on fiber walling assurance SYED IMRAN ALI HAMDANI Srinagar, June 9: The busy Hyder Pora flyover, a tallest structure in the south City, not only breaches the privacy of scores of houses, but is feared to be a threat to security at the private residence of Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad. Even as since day one of the traffic movement on the elevated expressway, the residents have been complaining that their privacy has been breached, the government allegedly did nothing beyond repeated assurances that a fiber-wall would be pinned along the one-kilometer long structure. But for now threat to security at Azad’s residence has added a new dimension to the issue. EYES ON AZAD’S RESIDENCE The private residence of Azad, former Chief Minister of the state, is adjacent to the flyover. Sources said in the wake of traffic movement on the flyover, higher than the rooftop of Azad’s residence, security concerns were raised. But as the government didn’t seemingly keep its promise of erecting a fiber walling on the elevated highway, the family voluntarily went to further the height of the compound wall. But this didn’t help because the wall couldn’t compete with the flyover height. “To truly avoid a view from the flyover, the wall needs to be over 100 feet high, which is even higher than that for some jail and technically impossible to be implemented on the ground,” said a civil engineer requesting not to be named. Security experts said fiber-sheet walling of the flyover was a viable solution to the problem. THE GOVERNMENT PROMISE Two years back soon after the inauguration of the expressway, the government admitted that the flyover has breached the privacy of area residents. The then Minister of State for Roads and Buildings(R&B) department, Javed Ahmed Dar had said fiber-walling will be erected. In August 2011, Dar said the state government would fund the walling. But if R&B officials are to be believed, no such proposal has been tabled as yet. “There’s no proposal for any fiber walling,” said a R&B official. ADMIN SPEAKS When contacted the District Development Commissioner, Er Farooq Ahmed Shah said the matter would be looked into. “We’ll soon call a meeting of the concerned agencies including R&B so that the fiber walling can be undertaken,” the DDC told Greater Kashmir. THE DISCRIMINATION At a time when governments even in the metropolitan cities like New Delhi are so sensitive towards people’s privacy living in the vicinity of flyovers, that they got fiber-glass walling along the elevated expressways, the ruling National Conference-led coalition in JK is unmoved. This is despite the fact that apart from infringement in privacy of people, the flyover breaches security at the residence of the former Chief Minister, who is also a senior Congress leader in the country.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 02:59:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015