Over 1,400 bunkers to be built in J&K frontier areas

SRINAGAR: The Centre has sanctioned the construction of over 14,000 bunkers at a cost of over Rs 400 crore in the frontier areas of Jammu and Kashmir to safeguard the lives of people living along the Line of Control and the international border, an official said today.

These bunkers would include 13,029 individual bunkers and 1,431 community bunkers, he added.

"Government of India has sanctioned construction of 14,460 bunkers at a cost of Rs 415.73 crore to safeguard the lives of the people living along the LoC and IB in J&K," an official spokesperson said after a review meeting here today.

The meeting chaired by Public Works Minister Naeem Akhtar reviewed the progress of construction of Safety Bunkers and Evacuation Shelters along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in the Jammu region.

Evacuation sheds will also to be constructed along the LoC and IB to deal with emergencies during cross-border shelling, the spokesperson said. The bunkers are to be constructed by the roads and building department which has already approved the proposal, including design and specifications and tenders to start construction will be issued soon, he added.

"While 7,298 bunkers are being constructed along the LoC in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, 7,162 underground bunkers would be constructed along the IB in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts," the spokesperson said.

He said the capacity of the 160 square feet individual bunker would be eight people, and that of the 800 square feet community bunker would be 40 people. The meeting was informed that the hilly terrain of districts like Poonch substantially increases the head-load while bunkers in low-lying areas need water-proofing, which increases the cost from the Rs 2.50 lakh per bunker fixed by the Centre.

"The Works Department will write to the Ministry of Home Affairs to approve 30-40 per cent hike in cases where changes are required in specification due to difficult geography or the cost of ferrying material to the construction site is high," Akhtar said.

Nearly all tenders for individual bunkers have been issued in areas of Jammu, Samba, Poonch and Rajouri, the spokesperson said. The Minister directed the officers to ensure that the respective Deputy Commissioners fast track the process of site clearances.

Once the construction is over, the bunkers will be geo-tagged in consultation with Rural Development Department as per existing norms, officials said.