Arjumand Wani
PULWAMA, Oct 10: The clock tower at Pulwama’s famous Rajpora Chowk, which was renamed in honor of Police Assistant Sub Inspector Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, killed in a terrorist attack in 2013, has become the town’s newest puzzler.
This peculiar situation came to the attention of this reporter when an octogenarian gentleman approached him with a simple question, “Gobrya Waqt kya Aaw,” which translates to, “Son, what is the time?” The reporter’s eyes traveled to the tower’s clocks on all four sides.
The clock showed 8:07, but something seemed amiss as it was quite late. When the reporter checked the other side, it displayed 9:42. To clear the confusion, this reporter resorted to mobile phone, which revealed the actual time to be 11:05.
Upon inquiry with the President of the Municipal Committee Pulwama, Bilal Ahmad Rather, it was revealed that the clocks installed on the building are not just unreliable but also not environment friendly. He mentioned, “We have ordered new clocks worth 15 lakhs INR, which will be soon installed.” However, Rather admitted he wasn’t exactly sure when the new clocks would arrive.
The clock tower project had an estimated cost of approximately 50 lakhs INR, of which 24 lakhs have already been spent, according to an official statement.
