Srinagar, Jul 01 (KNS): Jammu and Kashmir National Conference senior Leader and former Speaker Mubarak Gul said the development in Shahar-e-Khas presents a story of missing deadlines and neglect, saying the successive governments after 2015 lacked the capability to execute development projects in the old city of Srinagar.

While lashing out at the governor administration for not meeting the expectations of people vis-à-vis augmentation of basic infrastructure and ensuring all amenities to the people, Gul said, “Not just interior roads, the main arterials of the city are also in shambles. The roads of old city areas are dotted with potholes. The incumbent administration is driven by a laid back attitude. The work on major projects of the city in particular and the state in general is moving at a snail’s pace for the reasons better known to the administration. There is no accountability on ground. We have already lost much of the working season to administrative ineptitude, indecisiveness and lack of planning,” he said adding, “The localities of Noor Bagh, Goripura, Waganpura, Palpura in Idgah constituency have been put off from the development radar of the government. The people living in these areas have been left to fend for themselves. The routes and alleys in these localities are dotted with potholes. What is pushing the locals to wall is the sheer laid back attitude of the administration to their woes.”

“Every pivotal department of the state is telling the grimy tale of ineptitude and inaction. We had pinned high hopes on the governor administration, that it will do amends to the wrong committed by former PDP-BJP government but to our dismay ,the governor administration proved no better than its predecessor government,” he said adding, “ People are yearning for good governance. The fate of various flagship development projects in the Srinagar city in particular and the state in general is marred by administrative apathy. No substantial development work was executed in the Shahar e Khas area of the city. People living in the historical city are yearning for basic and effective amenities,” he said.

While expressing concern over the shortage of basic commodities in the old city areas, Gul said, “It is not just edibles. The unavailability of doctors and other Para medical staff in local dispensaries is also pushing the hapless poor people to wall. I urge the incumbent administration to ensure all basic and effective amenities to the people. If this is the condition of services in the city, one can well gauge the situation elsewhere in the rural and remote hilly areas.”

Gul urged the state government to speed up the construction of Noor Bagh Bridge and mitigate the issues concerning the people in the constituency. He urged the Governor to personally initiate work on various flag ship projects the work on which was initiated during the former Omar Abdullah led government. (KNS)