A flyover project at Sanatnagar, once envisaged to decongest one of Srinagar’s most traffic-clogged junctions, is now the latest symbol of bureaucratic inertia, technical oversights, and governance fatigue.
Despite being sanctioned as early as 2018 under a broader mobility infrastructure plan for the city, the Sanatnagar flyover remains mired in indefinite delays, with no certainty of completion. The core issue—an unanticipated clash with a 132 KV high-voltage power line—has rendered the structure unsafe and unviable, stalling progress and threatening both worker safety and future public use. The flyover was intended to streamline heavy vehicular flow, separate civilian and security traffic, and reduce travel times along National Highway-44. Instead, it has become a cautionary tale of how gaps in project design, lack of technical due diligence, and coordination failures can compromise critical urban infrastructure. Officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), who oversaw the Detailed Project Report, have come under scrutiny for not factoring in the vertical clearance needed for the existing high-tension line. This transmission line, a vital artery of the national grid operated by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, now hovers dangerously close to the flyover’s deck, posing a substantial risk of electrocution or structural damage—particularly during Kashmir’s harsh winter months.
The options proposed to resolve this oversight—either raising the line or lowering the flyover—both demand significant land acquisition and additional funding, neither of which have been arranged. With this deadlock continuing, the flyover’s construction site has metamorphosed into a daily ordeal for thousands of commuters. Narrow detours, barricades, and construction debris have turned Sanatnagar’s intersection into a veritable bottleneck. Students, emergency vehicles, and local business operators are bearing the brunt, with ambulances stuck in traffic and shopkeepers reporting a nosedive in sales due to restricted access and persistent noise pollution.
Initially pegged at ₹40-50 crore, the project’s cost is expected to escalate due to structural redesigns and utility relocation. Despite the city’s Master Plan 2035 and Comprehensive Mobility Plan highlighting this corridor as a strategic development zone, poor feasibility studies, absence of detailed utility mapping, and a lack of inter-agency synergy have collectively derailed execution. Unlike other flyovers in Bemina and Nowgam, which witnessed smoother rollouts under similar conditions, Sanatnagar’s remains a stark anomaly—one driven more by institutional apathy than logistical complexity.
The impact is not limited to Srinagar’s commuters alone. Public confidence in infrastructure commitments is weakening. The flyover, once anticipated to bolster market connectivity, tourism flow, and local business logistics, now stands as an unfinished monument to missed opportunity. For residents, the sense of betrayal is visceral. Social media posts regularly label the site as “a zone of endless torture,” while many citizens question how such an elementary safety lapse was ignored at the planning stage.
Responsibility is widely shared. NHAI’s approval of a flawed DPR, the J&K administration’s slow pace of land acquisition, and the delayed interventions by Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL) all reflect systemic gaps. Political instability may have slowed decisions, but it does not justify the complete lack of corrective momentum. Meanwhile, contractors and consultants proceeded with construction, seemingly without verifying on-ground constraints—once again pointing to India’s chronic issue of “build first, solve later.”
This flyover’s troubled journey is not just a commentary on technical inefficiencies but on governance structures that fail to respond to urban realities. Environmental concerns are mounting too, with rising dust, noise levels, and emissions as vehicles idle for hours in gridlocked conditions. While rural Kashmir remains largely unaffected, urban Srinagar is suffocating under the weight of broken promises and poor execution.
For the flyover to eventually serve its purpose, urgent coordination between NHAI, KPDCL, and the J&K government is critical. Securing funds, resolving land logistics, and redefining the power line pathway must take precedence. Without bold and timely decisions, the Sanatnagar flyover risks becoming a standing metaphor for India’s lopsided urban development—where ambition repeatedly succumbs to negligence.
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