Work on the Rs 350 crore Jehangir chowk –Rambagh Expressway corridor which is first of its kind in the Kashmir division is underway in full swing. So far Rs 175 crores have been spent by J&K ERA (Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency ) on the construction of the project which is being undertaken by J&KERA under its ongoing JKUSDIP ( Jammu and Kashmir urban sector development investment programme) funded by Asian Development Bank. Work on 2.5 km long four lane expressway corridor which passess through the Jehangir Chowk –Rambagh portion of the busiest road in the Srinagar city i.e Indira Gandhi –Airport road.

Work on the project is being undertaken in double shift and as on date 65% progress has been achieved on the project as a whole. The physical progress achieved under different components of the coveted project are : 88% on laying of piles, 80% on laying of pile caps,70 % on laying of pier caps, 65% on casting of girders , 50% on erection of girders.

Once completed the project will play a key role in decongestion of traffic on one of the major arterial roads of the Srinagar city leading to the Srinagar international airport and lessen the travel time by 25-30 minutes on the road stretch. Another major benefits of the project will be the saving on account of fuel which has been calculated to be Rs 23.25 crores per year since it would remove the problem of jamming of vehicles by providing the smooth flow of traffic on the road stretch thus also reduce the levels of air pollution in the area drastically.

All Efforts are being made by J&KERA to commission the project as a whole by the end of 2017.

Jenab Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari Hon’ble Minister for Education who is also MLA Amirakadal last night conducted the late night surprise inspection of developmental works being executed by J&K ERA in city centre. Works inspected included the Construction of Grade separator near TRC – Radio Kashmir crossing and Construction of Expressway corridor from Jehangir Chowk to Rambagh flyover were work was underway in double shift.

Shri Vinod Sharma , Chief Executive Officer , J&KERA informed that so far 45-50% progress has been achieved on the Construction of Grade Seperator near Radio Kashmir crossing and work is underway in double shift to ensure early completion of the project. In order to ensure minimal hindrance to traffic movement on the road Hon’ble minister directed JKERA to start barricading for laying of pier P1 by 29th July and must ensure its completion by 12th , August, 2017 . He also directed that all efforts be made to ensure the commissioning of project by forthcoming death anniversary of jenab Mufti Muhammad Syed late Chief Minister of J&K state.

Later in the night Bukhari also inspected progress of work on construction of Rs 339 crore Expressway Corridor from Jehangir Chowk to Rambagh were work was also in full swing during the late night. He was informed by CEO ERA that 62%- 67% progress has been achieved on the project and till date Rs 175.79 crores have been spent on the 2.5 Km long prestigious infrastructure project in the Srinagar centre. He expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the coveted project and directed J&KERA to ensure that the project is commissioned in full by Dec, 2017.

Shri Satish Razdan, Director ERA Kashmir, Shri Mohammad Iqbal Mir Project Manager (T) JKERA Kashmir and Shri Parveez Fazili Team Leader of Design and Supervision consultants for JKERA and other officers of ERA accompanied Hon’ble Minister during the site visit

Ms. Mehbooba Mufti, Hon’ble Chief Minister of J&K state today inaugurated Rs 27.15 crores semi mechanized car parking facility in Srinagar. The work on the sub-project has been completed by Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (J&K ERA) under its ongoing Jammu and Kashmir Urban Sector Development Investment Programme (JKUSDIP) funded by (ADB) Asian Development Bank

Jenab Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, Hon’ble Minister of Education , Ms. Asiea Naqash , Hon’ble Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Social welfare , Health and Medical education, Jenab Noor Muhammad Sheikh , MLA Batmaloo,Ms. Anjum Fazili, Hon’ble MLA, Jenab Khursheed Aalam Hon’ble MLC were also present on the occasion.

The facility was inaugurated by Chief Minister by pressing of an automatic lever. Chief Executive Officer J&KERA, Vinod Sharma briefed the Chief Minister about features of the project. He said Rs 27.15 crore car parking project which is first of its kind in the state includes the construction of multilevel mechanized semi automatic car parking facility which will accommodate 288 light motor vehicles and provide much needed parking facility in one of busiest commercial places in summer capital . He further said that the facility comprises of 4 bays with each having parking space for 72 light motor vehicles. The facility is spread over an area of 1545 sqm which also includes three storeyed commercial complex comprising of office space and public toilet.

The car parking facility will have entry from Maulana Azad road and exit from exchange road will provide easy and safe parking for vehicle owners who will have to just place their vehicle over the automated pellet and vehicle will be automatically placed in the available vacant parking slot and similarly will be retrived back from the slot and placed at the automated pellet with whole process taking less than 2 to 2.5 minutes. The process will be undertaken with the help of imported HID (Human Interface Device) called PLC (Programmed Logic Control Unit) which will be operated by trained engineers and technicians of M/S Simplex engineers private limited who will operate the parking facility for the period of three years as per provisions of the contract and will simultaneously train and build capacities of personnel from SDA (Srinagar Development Authority) which will operate the facility after expiry of operation and maintenance period with the contractor.

Baseer Ahmad Khan , Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Inspector General Of Police (Traffic ) Jagjit Kumar , Vinod Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, JKERA, Farooq Ahmad Lone , District Development Commissioner, Srinagar, Thaseen Mustafa, V.C Srinagar Development Authority , Shri Satish Razdan , Director, JKERA, Kashmir, and other senior officers of Police and Divisional administration were also present on the occasion.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti inaugurated Bikram Chowk to Women College Gandhi Nagar Flyover at Jammu. 1.3 km long flyover starting from Bikram Chowk to Green Belt Gandhi Nagar executed under Asian Development Bank funded project, JKUSDIP. The cost of the project is INR 77 crores. It will give a lot of relief to traffic plying on Bikram Chowk Satwari road. The flyover is built at the cost of Rs.77.54 crores.

Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, Speaker Legislative Assembly, Kavinder Gupta, Minister of forests, Choudhary Lal Singh, Member Parliament, Jugal Kishore Sharma, MLA, Rajesh Gupta, Senior Officer of Divisional administration and ERA were present on the occasion.

Work on first semi automatic multilevel car parking facility in the state which is being constructed in the erstwhile KMDA at Lalchowk, Srinagar is nearing completion and is expected to be completed soon and shall be operational after the test trials which are underway at present. This hi-tech parking facility in city centre is being constructed by JKERA under its ongoing JKUSDIP (Jammu and Kashmir Urban Sector Development Investment Programme) funded by Asian Development Bank.

Rs 27.15 crore project includes the multilevel (5- levels) puzzle type mechanized semi automatic car parking facility which will accommodate 288 light motor vehicles and provide much needed parking facility in one of busiest commercial places in summer capital. The facility comprises of 4 bays in 5 levels with each having parking space for 72 light motor vehicles. The facility is spread over an area of 1545 sqm which also includes three storeyed commercial complex comprising of office space and public toilet.

The parking facility with entry from Maulana Azad road and exit from exchange road will provide easy and safe parking for vehicle owners who will have to just place their vehicle over the automated pellet and vehicle will be automatically placed in the available vacant parking slot and similarly will be retrieved back from the slot and placed at the automated pellet with whole process taking 2 to 2.5 minutes. The process will be undertaken with the help of imported HID (Human Interface Device) called PLC (Programmed Logic Control Unit) which will be operated by trained engineers and technicians of M/S Simplex engineers private limited who will operate the parking facility for the period of three years as per provisions of the contract and will simultaneously train and build capacities of personnel from SDA (Srinagar Development Authority) who will operate the facility after expiry of operation and maintenance period with the contractor

Workshop on latest pipe network technologies was organized by J&KERA here today. During the workshop experts from M/S Hitachi India Private made a detailed presentation on the latest Pipe Network Management System. Experts from the M/S Hitachi explained in detail about the latest simulated techniques which may be utilized for managing the efficient supply of water with requisite pressure.

This system can be used effectively to create, edit and search pipeline data, search affected area by suspension simulation, display current water distribution status, control pumps based on water demand. It was explained that the adoption of these simulated technologies will drastically reduce the quantity of NRW (Non-Revenue Water) to permissible limits, help field staff of PHED to timely detect and respond to leakage problems in minimum possible time and increase the efficiency of system to great extent.

BesidesVinod Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, ERA workshop was attended by Ravinder Gupta, Director, ERA, Chief Engineer PHED, Sushil Aima, Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control, Rajeev Gandotra, Chief Engineer UEED, Naresh Langeh, Chief Engineer Ravi-Tawi and Design Directorate, H C Jerath, Superintending Engineer, ERA, Jammu, R K Gupta, Superintending Engineer, ERA, Kashmir, K Gupta, Superintending Engineer PHE, Gagan Jyoti, T.O. to CE PHE, Sarvan Singh and other staff of ERA and line departments. M/S Hitachi private limited was represented by Ajay Mahajan (MD) & Mahesh Katare (DGM).

Chief Executive Officer, J&K ERA Vinod Sharma today conducted the extensive site visit of works being executed by J&K ERA in Srinagar city under its ongoing JKUSDIP (Jammu and Kashmir Urban Sector Development Investment programme) funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB)

During the site visit of under execution Express way corridor from Jehangir Chowk to Rambagh Satish Razdan, Director ERA, Kashmir informed that work on the project is gaining pace rapidly and in coming days additional skilled labour and machinery will be mobilized on the project. He said till date Rs 148 crores have been spent on the project. CEO ERA later visited old KMDA where Multilevel car parking facility is being constructed by J&KERA. He was informed that around 80% progress has been achieved on the project with all the civil components being completed while as work on electromechanical components is underway. He said efforts are being made to commission the project by the end of March-2017. except for black topping of internal roads. Engineers were instructed to strongly adhere to quality parameters, safety guidelines. Contractor was also asked to strictly follow the dust suppression measures to avoid inconvenience to public.

Later CEO also visited Athawajan and Rawalpora areas where construction of two mega storm drainage projects are under execution by J&K ERA. Directions were given to the contractor to further gear up the pace of work on construction of pumping station at Athawajan to ensure the timely completion of work. He was also accompanied by Project Manager, Kashmir and other senior officers of J&K ERA along with Consultants of J&K ERA.

State Govt. has entrusted the job of preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) and also to conduct the feasibility studies for the MRTS (Mass Rapid Transport System) in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar to RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic services). Decision to this affect was taken last month in a meeting held under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Chief Minister. RITES will initially be preparing the Project Report for a length of 45 Kms in Srinagar City and 30 Kms for the city of Jammu.

In the first Phase, Projects shall be prepared for the routes as suggested in the City Mobility Plan (CMP) of Jammu and Srinagar Cities. The process has been initiated following the offer of the Govt. of Japan, inviting proposals for technical cooperation under their Technical Cooperation Program for Metro & Railway Projects in the main cities of different States of India. Formal letter of intent in favor of Ms RITES issued by J&K ERA was handed over to the representative of Ms RITES, Sh. Piyush Kansal, Group General Manager RITES by CEO ERA, Sh. Vinod Sharma at Srinagar here today. The tentative routes suggested in the CMP for Srinagar city are Nowgam Railway station to SKIMS via Baghi Mehtab, Rambagh, Jawahar Nagar, Civil Sectt, Barbarshah, Nowhatta, Hawal, Alamgari Bazar and Pantha Chowk to Shalteng via Lasjan, Badami Bagh, Lal Chowk, Civil Sectt, Tatoo Ground, Bemina. The routes suggested for Jammu are Amphala Chowk to Bari Brahmna via Bikram Chowk, Gandhi Nagar, Satwari & Bakshi Nagar to Purmandal via BC Road, Baghi Bahu, Trikuta Nagar.

On directions of Chief Minister in a review meeting in Srinagar on 20th July 2016 regarding “Rail Based Mass Transit System” network in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, a meeting with the representatives of M/S Rites Ltd., a Government of India Enterprise was held in the office of Chief Executive Officer, J&K ERA, Jammu on 12th August 2016 to discuss the modalities for further progress of the project.

The M/S Rites ltd. was represented by Piyush Kansal, Country head of Urban Transport and his associates. On behalf of the state government it was attended by Vinod Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, ERA, Iftikhar A Hakim, Chief Town Planner, Kashmir, Malik Bashrat Ahmed, Director (Chief Engineer) Kashmir, ERA, Anil Raina, Chief Town Planner, Jammu, Sudheer Shah, SE R&B, Jammu, on behalf of Chief Engineer, R&B, Jammu and other concerned officers.

After discussing the proposal for Rail Based Mass Transit System Network as recommended in the City Mobility Plan for Jammu and Srinagar cities and also corridor proposed by the state stake holder departments, M/S Rites was asked to submit cost offers within a weeks’ time for preparation of Detailed progress report for Rail Transit System in Jammu and Srinagar cities. The DPR should cover following aspects: • City Level Traffic Study including Primary Traffic & Travel Surveys • Development of Travel Demand Model and Traffic Forecast • Mass Transit System Selection • Engineering Surveys • Alignment Design, Utilities and Land • Station Planning & Intermodal Integration • System Design including Rolling Stock, Traction, S&T, AFC etc. • Environmental & Social Impact Assessment • Cost Estimates, Economic & Financial Analysis/TOD • Implementation Strategy and Institutional Arrangement • Disaster, Security and Disable Friendly Measures

They were further asked to be geared up to start work on ground for preparation of comprehensive Detailed Progress Report, immediately after the acceptance of proposal is conveyed to them.

J&K ERA today handed over the two rehabilitation complexes namely Rambagh and Jehangir Chowk rehabilitation complexes constructed by it with the cost of Rs 100 crores to Srinagar Municipal Corporation for the rehabilitation of shopkeepers getting dislocated due to the construction of Rambagh – Jehangir Chowk Flyover in Srinagar city. The handover /takeover took place at a simple function held here today, in the presence of Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, J&K Dr. Nirmal Singh, Chief Executive Officer, J&K ERA Sh. Vinod Sharma handed over the possession of 2 No. complexes at Jehangir Chowk and Rambagh to Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation Sh. Bashir Ahmad Khan.

Shopping Complex at Jehangir Chowk comprises of 152 No. shops with 1,42000 Sqft. Commercial/ office space. It has basement, Ground Floor and 3 Floors.

Shopping Complex at Rambagh comprises of 153 No. shops and 1,04000 Sqft. Commercial/ office space. It has basement, Ground Floor and 2 Floors.

Most of the shopkeepers affected by the flyover have been accommodated in these Complexes except for few leftover cases which are under litigation/ dispute. Henceforth, SMC will be owner of these 2 No. Complexes and draw the rental agreements and charge monthly rent from tenants/ allotees of these Complexes. SMC shall also be responsible for the upkeep of these Complexes. The uncommitted shops in these Complexes shall be allotted by a Committee constituted for this purpose. The allotment Committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir and will have following members: a) Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar b) Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation c) Chief Engineer PW (R&B) Department Kashmir

The function was also attended by Chief Engineer, J&K ERA Kashmir, Er. Malik Basharat Ahmad and other senior officer.