Early Times Report
Srinagar, Dec 16: Lack of communication facilities along the Mughal Road is a hurdle in declaring the historic road as an alternative to Srinagar-Jammu highway and a all season road, said a retired civil engineer having overlooked construction work of the road.
The engineer's remarks were substantiated during the recent snowfall when lack of communication facilities especially on the ten kilometer stretch from Pir Ki Gali to Poshana area taxed the nerves of the commuters. This particular stretch of the road, according to commuters, gets cut off from rest of the state during harsh winter, landslides and traffic jams.
They said incase of any untoward incident along this stretch, it is almost impossible to establish contact with the authorities either in Jammu or Srinagar due to lack of communication facilities.
Experts have suggested establishing a police post along the stretch. "In emergencies, the authorities can be contacted through the police wireless system," they said adding the police personnel can prove a great help in such situations.
The experts have also suggested proper and effective information centres at Jammu and Srinagar.
"The commuters need to be told about the status of road before they start the journey," they said. A senior traffic official said that such system already exists. "Some commuters do not obey the directions and land into trouble," he said. However, he said that in future nobody would be allowed to travel on the highway in such situations. Pertinent to mention hundreds of trucks laden with fruit got stranded on the highway. Some passenger vehicles also got stranded, reports said. |
