The Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department, with financial assistance from the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD), has begun construction of the Mandol motorable bridge over the Chenab River in Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir — a project that will slash travel time from Doda city to the National Highway at Assar from 2.5 hours to just 10 minutes. The 200-metre-long bridge, standing 100 feet above the Chenab, is expected to deliver all-weather road connectivity to nearly 90,000 residents of the Siraj region once it is commissioned.

Project Scope and Cost

Construction of the bridge began in 2025 and is targeted for completion by the end of the current financial year. The sanctioned project cost is ₹24.69 crore, against an allotted cost of ₹22.83 crore. The structure, formally designated the Mandol to Malhori motorable bridge, will be 5.15 metres wide — sufficient for motor vehicles — and will link the village of Malhori on one bank to Mandol on the other.

Assistant Executive Engineer, R&B (Bhagwah Division), Doda, Dinesh Bhushan confirmed the progress, saying: 'The construction work of the bridge is going on at full pace. It will connect the Kastigarh, Baghwah, and Assar blocks.' He added that the bridge will link Siraj with Assar on NH 244, integrating the area into the national highway network for the first time.

Three Blocks and a Region Finally Connected

The bridge will directly serve three administrative blocks of Doda district — Kastigarh, Baghwah, and Assar — as well as the Rajgarh block of neighbouring Ramban district. Communities on the left bank of the Chenab in the wider Chenab Valley, spread across the districts of Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban, have historically endured severe geographical isolation, dependent on unstable footbridges, zip-lines, or multi-hour mountain detours to reach the highway.

A local resident, Mudassar, described the daily reality: 'We have to travel for 2.5 hours via Doda city to reach the other side of the river and the National Highway at Assar. When the bridge is completed, it will take us just 10 minutes to reach there.' He noted that generations of his family had waited for this connectivity: 'My forefathers dreamed and aspired for this to happen one day; I hope they would have been alive to see this development, which will surely make the life of the entire Siraj much easier.'

Voices from the Ground

Preyavart Singh, a resident of Malhori village, said the river's proximity had long been a cruel illusion: 'The other side of the river is just a stone's throw away, but if we want to meet our relatives or in case of any emergency, we think twice before starting the treacherous journey to go there.' He added that the distance of more than 40 kilometres via the long route will effectively collapse to a 10-minute drive once the bridge opens.

Significance for Chenab Valley Connectivity

This is part of a broader push to bridge the Chenab's left bank communities into the mainstream road network. Motorable bridges over the Chenab are considered a critical development milestone for the region's hilly, scattered population — enabling access not just to the highway but to emergency services, markets, schools, and hospitals. The project's NABARD funding underlines its classification as a rural infrastructure priority under national financial frameworks.

With completion slated before the close of the financial year, residents and officials alike are watching to see whether the construction timeline holds — and whether the bridge that generations waited for will finally end Siraj's isolation.