JAMMU, Oct 29: President of Mission Statehood Jammu Kashmir, Sunil Dimple, along with traders and local representatives, on Thursday staged a protest against the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) over alleged substandard construction of lanes, drains, tiled surfaces and other civic works in the West and East Assembly constituencies.
The protest was held on the Janipur High Court road, where Dimple alleged that poor-quality construction, damaged roads, overflowing sewage manholes and leaking water pipes had caused inconvenience to residents and commuters. He accused contractors and concerned officials of compromising construction standards and demanded accountability for the alleged irregularities.
Addressing the protesters, Dimple urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to order a high-level inquiry by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Crime Branch into the utilisation of development funds allocated for tile work, lanes, slabs and blacktopping. He also demanded an investigation into the properties of JMC engineers, alleging possible irregularities in the execution of civic projects.
Dimple claimed that some tiled lanes and slabs were being constructed with inadequate cement and iron reinforcement, raising concerns about their durability. He further alleged that lanes were tiled without proper ground levelling, resulting in rainwater entering the homes of residents. He said complaints had been raised with JMC officials but alleged that no effective action had followed.
The protest also highlighted concerns over the proposed flyover connecting Amphalla, New Plot, Janipur, Roopnagar and Bantalab. Dimple demanded that the government and concerned authorities make the project’s plan and blueprint available in the public domain to ensure transparency and address public concerns.
He urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to direct the JMC to address the grievances of residents, traders and shopkeepers. Dimple alleged that businesses were already facing difficulties due to declining commercial activity and that inadequate civic infrastructure was adding to their problems.
Raising further concerns about urban infrastructure, Dimple claimed that streetlights, traffic signals and several main-road lighting poles were non-functional. He also alleged that door-to-door waste collection services were not operating properly, leaving residents struggling with waste disposal.
As an alternative to addressing traffic congestion, Dimple demanded the construction of an exclusive four-lane circular road connecting Amphalla Manda, Janipur High Court road, Roopnagar, Bantalab, Kot Bhalwal and Akhnoor.
The protest was attended by several market representatives, including Deepak, Arjun Anand, Manjeet Anand, Rupesh Bhat, Sachin Soi, Sat Sharma, Rajesh Kumar, Shiv Kumar, Swarn Lal Verma and Narender Kumar, among others.
The protesters called upon the authorities to ensure transparency in public expenditure, enforce construction standards and address long-pending civic issues affecting Jammu residents.