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| Srinagar-Banihal stretch of NH1 in shambles | | | Bashir Assad
Srinagar, Apr 21 : The 70 Kilometer stretch of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway from Srinagar to Banihal is in shambles due to the negligence of the authorities maintaining the road. The condition of the road stretch from Srinagar (Pantha-Chowk) to Jawaher tunnel in South Kashmir has been completely neglected by the authorities. It has turned out to be a hell for thousands of commuters and the vehicles ferrying on the road on daily basis. Pothole and water-logging right from Pantha-Chowk to this side of tunnel rather beyond that has made the road damn hell. While the expansion of Udhampur-Nagrota stretch of the highway has made driving a comfort, the same is a total discomfort from Pantha-Chowk to Banihal. "It is becoming a nightmare to travel on the Srinagar-Anantnag stretch. The road is muddy and inundated in water at many places, making it difficult for the vehicles to ply," said Ghulam Hasan, a daily commuter. "The dilapidated road has added to the woes of commuters, particularly
the ailing patients, as the journey is becoming cumbersome," said Muhammad Jabar Dar. "Normally it's a one-hour drive from Srinagar to Anantnag but it takes even four to five hours to cover the distance because of the pathetic condition of the road," said a Sumo driver, Ilyas Ahmad Khan. "Even our vehicles have incurred damages due to the bad condition of the road." The authorities maintaining the existing road seem to be in deep slumber and total insensitive to the great inconvenience caused to the commuters; work on the expansion of the Srinagar- Banihal stretch has hit many roadblocks and is certainly missing the deadline for completion. What is astounding that the road at Lethpora, Barsu just outside the office of the RAMKY construction company constructing and maintaining the road is the most inconvenient stretch dotted with potholes and water-logging. "As a part of the contract RAMKY was supposed to keep the already existing Highway in proper condition but they have failed to take proper care of the road," a senior official of the PWD told Early Times. The official, however, admitted that the state government was duty bound to grill the construction agency which it didn't. However, the officials of the RAMKY Constructions were least bothered about the maintenance of the existing road but are keen in seeking extension in deadline which ends in June this year. They, however, attribute the delay to the failure of the state government in land acquisition. "The delay has been caused due to sluggish pace of work by the executing agency and also due to lackadaisical approach of the state government which has failed to facilitate land acquisition in time," said an official, wishing anonymity. "The RAMKY has now approached the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and sought 12-month extension in the deadline." Perti "It is due to the delay in land acquisition that the work has hit the roadblocks," said Rakesh Kumar, Deputy General Manager RAMKY. He said the agency had to incur Rs 20 crore daily loss due to the delay. "Why should we at all afford to delay the project?" Kumar asked.
The executing agency was also entrusted with the maintenance of the existing road, but its condition is pathetic. |
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