JAMMU: National Conference senior leader Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal Monday said that travelling on the Jammu-Srinagar highway these days have become and ordeal and nasty experience for the commuters. He alleged the Border Roads Organization has miserably failed to live up to the expectations of the people.
Holding both commuters as well as the Government responsible for the mess, Kamal said that orders of the authorities to allow one way traffic is observed more in breach with goods carriers and vehicles of the security forces the main offenders.
“The Srinagar-Jammu highway is stressed to the limit with extra- heavy duty vehicles now seen on the highway in growing numbers choking it at many a places with one of the worst places being the sherbibi-Ramsoo stretch. This needs to be reduced which can be done by “Goods Specific traffic management” with passenger vehicles and essentials getting priority; scaling down number of security personnel drastically in the State in general and Kashmir Division in particular and speeding up the remaining work on the two alternate highways of Sinthan and Mughal road to make them all weather roads so that traffic load is reduced considerably on this Highway,” Kamal said during his address to workers at the party headquarter Sher-i- Kashmir Bhawan here in Jammu on Monday.
Kamal according to CNS said it took more than 12 hours to him to reach Jammu from Srinagar. “BRO has failed to come up to people’s expectations with journey on this highway becoming an ordeal more often than not especially in inclement weather. Maintenance of this highway in terms of money in late eighties was a whopping Eighty Crores per year as informed by officers of BRO when he was held –up in heavy snow at Jawahar Tunnel travelling as PWD minister from Srinagar to Jammu. Now almost thirty years on it must have gone up substantially. Alas ! this famous organization has done nothing to help provide way side public conveniences because of which getting stranded at forsaken places is a horrible experience especially for women and children.”
Kamal also pitched for the opening and using of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road and said that the using of this road will be one of the Confidence Building Measure between India and Pakistan. He however, lamented that Government of India is reluctant and shying away from talks with Pakistan.
