I AM A JAMMUITE: Sustainability Slipping into Susceptibility
Built to last, built to impress
Anil Kumar Sharma
In my younger years, I often questioned my parents about why we could not live in a large bungalow like many others, when we ourselves lived in just two unfinished rooms. I dreamt of a proper house, a blacktopped road leading to our mohalla, and a drainage system that actually worked.
My father’s answer was always simple and honest. He spoke of limited resources, both at the family level and at the level of government. The country, he explained, did not have enough means then to provide even basic amenities to all its citizens. Roads, drainage systems, and housing were seen as privileges rather than necessities. Budget allocations were modest, and infrastructure projects often took decades to materialise.
That era has undeniably changed.
Today, there is no longer an acute shortage of public funds. Governments have introduced multiple schemes to improve infrastructure and civic amenities. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways alone is estimated to spend nearly ₹2,28,733 crore in 2025–26. Roads now reach remote areas, cities have expanded, and drainage systems exist even in newly developed localities. On paper, progress appears impressive.
Yet, the question remains. Why does our infrastructure fail so quickly?
The problem today is not scarcity of money, but scarcity of planning, accountability, and long-term vision.
In regions such as Jammu and Kashmir, roads deteriorate within months of construction. Potholes appear, surfaces collapse, and waterlogging becomes routine. These failures are often blamed on traffic or weather, but the truth lies beneath the surface. Roads do not fail on their own. They fail because drainage systems beneath them fail.
Roads and drainage are not separate entities. They are a single integrated system. When drainage is poorly designed or executed, water seeps into road foundations, weakening them silently until collapse becomes inevitable. Infrastructure inaugurated with grand ceremonies often disappears from public utility within a short span.
As a society, we seem more focused on visibility than durability. Inaugurations bring attention, photographs, and political mileage. Maintenance brings none. Yet, it is maintenance that determines whether infrastructure serves people or merely decorates reports.
We may not yet be a fully developed nation, but we are certainly capable of thoughtful planning. What is required is integrated design, strict adherence to technical standards, regular monitoring, and clear accountability. Road and drainage departments must work in coordination, not isolation. Responsibility should not end at inauguration but extend through the life cycle of the project.
There was once a television debate aired in the late nineteen eighties on Pakistan Television. The host asked the Chief Engineer of Roads and Buildings in Lahore why post independence infrastructure failed to match the durability of British era constructions such as Mall Road and Civil Lines. His response, though said lightly, carried a hard truth. The British built infrastructure to rule for generations. We build infrastructure as a means of livelihood.
Even today, British era roads such as Residency Road in Jammu and Srinagar continue to serve, despite decades of neglect. Their survival is not accidental. It is the result of planning with longevity in mind.
The lesson is clear. Infrastructure must be built not only for present convenience, but for future resilience. Sustainability should not quietly slip into susceptibility.
It is time for those in power to move beyond statements and ceremonies and deliver infrastructure that lasts.
Development is not measured by the number of plaques unveiled. It is measured by what still stands when the applause fades.
Development does not rise from inauguration plaques.
Nations are built on strong foundations.
A road that breaks today
Is not history in the making
it is our failure.
(STRAIGHT TALK COMMUNICATIONS EXCLUSIVE)
