(Image source from: jkmedia.net)

1858 roads of total length 11,517 km and 84 bridges have been completed and 142 roads of length 1207 km and 3 more bridges have been sanctioned out of which 96 roads and 2 bridges have been built in Ladakh.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, a flagship government scheme which is entitled to improve connectivity to the unconnected inhabitations, 3261 roads of length 19,77 kms and 243 bridges have been sanctioned in Jammu and Kashmir.

Out of these, 1858 roads and 84 bridges have been completed. As per the data available as of July 2020, in the Union territory of Ladakh as many as 142 roads of 1207 km length and 3 bridges have been sanctioned out of which 96 roads and 2 bridges have been successfully completed in Ladakh UT.

The data was released by the Ministry of Rural development on Monday, August 17.

PMGSY aims to connect 2149 eligible unconnected habitations out of which 1858 habitations have been connected in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. When it comes to the data of Ladakh, 65 habitations have been sanctioned and 64 have already been connected by the end of July 2020.

The rural development ministry said that a large number of sanctioned projects have not been able to get started in August 2019 due to lack of clearance from the forest department.

However, with the dissolution of Article 370, substantial numbers of such pending projects have been resolved under the new governance. During the last one year, 181 roads have been completed with an expenditure of more than Rs. 715 crores.

Among the prominent developments is the road connectivity from T03 to Stok in Leh, Ladakh which cost about Rs. 13 crores to the government. This road proposed to the village stok benefits a population of 1855.

For the first time, this road is being constructed using the plastic waste from the entire Leh district. A technology is being used where the plastic is shredded and put into a hot mix plant where the plastic melts and coats the heated aggregates before they are coated with hot bitumen.

This technology will not only reduce the plastic waste but also strengthen the pavement structure of the road by reducing the water absorption of the aggregates. This project was started in the year 2019 and shall be completed by October 2020.

By building this road project in Stok village of Leh, the village will get all-weather connectivity with the nearest market due to which the socio economic conditions of the habitants will be improved.

The ministry for rural development also said that after all these projects, habitants will have better access to schools, markets and health care centers.

By Gayatri Yellayi