Srinagar, Aug. 11 -- Kashmir is building at a remarkable pace. Roads are getting wider, tunnels are opening new routes, bridges are appearing in remote areas and government departments are announcing one major project after another.

The scale of spending suggests a region being prepared for a new economic future. But the harder question is whether people trust these projects to work.

That trust has little to do with the size of a bridge or the cost of a road. It grows when a drainage system keeps a neighbourhood dry during heavy rain, when a newly built road survives its first difficult season, when a public hospital has the staff and equipment promised on paper, and when officials explain delays instead of leaving citizens to guess.

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