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| Mughal Road in dilapidated condition, Govt takes on officials | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Nov 22: The government has taken a serious note over the dilapidated condition of the Mughal Road, which is an alternate route of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
Mughal road, connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian often remain closed during winters due to its dilapidated condition and non-construction of the tunnel.
The road was recently cleared for one-way traffic after snow clearance operation. An official of Roads and Buildings Department said that government has expressed dismay over the dilapidated condition of the Mughal Road. The officials have been directed to undertake a physical and financial audit to fix responsibility for the poor maintenance of this strategic road which provides alternate connectivity to Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.
"The road needs immediate repairing for smooth flow of traffic. The construction of the tunnel would have made the Mughal Road all weather road," an official of Roads and Development Department, said. "There has been undue delay in construction of the tunnel which would have enable round-the-year connectivity on historic Mughal Road," the official said.
It not only stops vehicular services but also hampers the business which started between the two regions when the road was repaired and made functional again.
The project was approved in 2004, when the PDP shared power with Congress in the state. The proposal was for seven-kilometer long tunnel between Zaznar and Chathapani at 3000 meters altitude on the 230-year-old Mughal road.
The recent snowfall and closure of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has inflicted losses on fruit growers in Kashmir.
"Whenever there is any downpour the highway remains closed. Had the government constructed the tunnel on the Mughal Road, it would have saved us from losses," Sharif Ahmad, a fruit grower from Pulwama, said.
He said recently more than-5,000 truckloads of apples were stranded on Srinagar-Jammu national highway owing to snow. "Most of them could not reach destination in time and we suffered heavy losses," he said.
Another fruit grower, Subhan Ahmad from Shopian said that the opening of the Mughal Road brought new opportunities for business and cultural exchange between the two regions. "But this road remains close during the winter months due to non-construction of the tunnel," he added.
A source within the Roads and Buildings Department said that Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari had earlier assured former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti that work on the tunnel would be started very soon.
In March last year, the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), a company fully owned by the ministry had put on hold pre-construction project work after inviting proposals from eligible consultants for preparation of detailed project report and working out pre-construction activities for the tunnel.
Despite that, the source said that no work has been started on the ground. |
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