Srinagar: The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is again in the news for wrong reasons. Massive traffic snarls and mismanagement of traffic on the highway is making commuters suffer.
On Thursday, hundreds of vehicle which had left from Jammu to Srinagar early in the morning remained stranded on the highway for hours together making commuters suffer.
One of the commuters, who reached Srinagar after nearly 20-hours while talking to Precious Kashmir said, “It was an arduous journey as we didn’t find anyone regulating the traffic on the highway. First we were stopped at Udhampur for more than three hours. Then we got stuck in Ramban for many hours. After crossing Jawahar Tunnel we were stuck again.”
He said that the journey which one can complete in eight hours takes at least 20-hours. “The highway expansion work has ruined the stretch from Banihal to Ramban, shooting stones and landslides have become a norm. Any vehicle can be hit by a shooting stone as mountains have become lose due to indiscriminate digging,” the commuter added.
It’s in place o mention here that shooting stones falling on vehicles have led to many accidents and loss of precious lives.
Many people are of the opinion that the government has failed to do justice with the highway and the people of the landlocked Kashmir Valley. “During the past few years the Jammu-Srinagar highway has turned into a death trap. In 1947 people used to travel from Jammu to Srinagar and vice-versa but the highway used to be safe for travel. In 2020, this highway has become the most unsafe highway. It seems nothing has been done during the past 70-years to improve the road connectivity between Srinagar and Jammu,” said an analyst.
He said that the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway which the only all weather road, which connects Kashmir with the rest of the country was “ignored by the successive regimes.” “The political regimes which ruled Jammu and Kashmir for more than seventy years failed to come up with an alternative highway. Had the politicians paid some attention towards developing Mughal Road things in Kashmir could have been different today,” the analyst added.
An observer said that the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at present is “nobody’s baby.” “No one among the officials wants to take the responsibility. The J&K administration should handover the control of the highway to one particular department whom commuters can reach in the hour of need,” he added.
The observer said despite this highway turning into most undependable surface link no passenger sheds have been constructed along the highway. “Whenever the highway gets closed due to one or other reason commuters are left stranded with nowhere to go. The J&K administration needs to take concrete steps to address the highway woes. Travelers cannot be left at God’s mercy,” he added.
