Srinagar, July 12 -- Roads in Kashmir have a reputation for giving up long before their time.

Asphalt peels, potholes bloom, and once-smooth stretches crack into webs of frustration. It's a familiar cycle that repeats with every season.

While many point to budget constraints, weather, or hurried contractors, the real story lies somewhere deeper, in what happens before the first truck even arrives with hot mix.

I've seen firsthand what makes a road last. And more importantly, what makes it fail.

Back in 2019, we launched a focused quality control and assurance (QA/QC) drive in Srinagar under the technical leadership of Er. Aijaz Masood Bhat, a former research officer at the Road Research and Material Testing Lab.

This wasn't just anot...