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| Governor gets situation brief in Northern Command visit | | | Early Times Report
UDHAMPUR, JAN 21: Highlighting the importance of road connectivity in the sustainable development of any area, Governor, Mr N N Vohra, today emphasized the need for viable road network in Jammu and Kashmir which, in the absence of Railways, is heavily dependent on surface transport.
Inaugurating the Udhampur By-Pass, a project undertaken by the Border Roads Organisation, here this morning, the Governor referred to the frequent closure of the Srinagar-Jammu Highway and said that this needed to be kept open throughout the winter, using such technologies as may be necessary.
Mr Vohra appreciated the crucial role being played by the Border Roads Organisation in developing and maintaining the roads in the difficult hilly terrain of the State, and hoped that all the ongoing projects would be completed in a time-bound manner. He also hoped that concerned agencies of the State Government would enforce available laws for checking the menace of encroachments on the Highways. He also stressed the crucial need of identifying dedicated parking areas along the Highways to ensure smooth flow of traffic, without causing avoidable jams.
The Governor was briefed on the By-Pass Project by the Chief Engineer, BRO, Brig Ashok Bhutani. He said that the National Highway ( NH 1A) is the only lifeline to the Kashmir Valley which passes through important townships like Jammu, Udhampur, Banihal, Khannabal etc. Over the period of time the traffic density on this road has increased manifold. It was felt essential and inescapable to construct a Bypass out-skirting the cantonment and Udhampur town to avoid congestion.
Brig Bhutani apprised the Governor that the alignment of the Project takes off from km 54.50 and meets at km 67.00 on NH-1A. The 18.75 Km- Udhampur Bypass Project was entrusted to 35 Border Road Task Force, Project Beacon in 1998. He said that the work on this Project progressed at a good pace despite various hurdles during the construction. These included land acquisition, shifting of utilities, various court cases, forest clearance etc.
The highlights of the Project are the construction of three major bridges and a flyover at Dhar Road . The 8.30 meter wide road has high counter fort retaining walls and smooth gradients all along to permit easy movement of. The road outskirts the Udhampur Cantonment and the town and will decongest traffic on the Highway, ensure free flow of traffic, provide an opportunity for town planning to expand the Udhampur township with focus on exploring new tourist destinations and facilitating the overall development of the district by connecting remote villages.
The Bypass will provide an alternate means for movement of traffic to the Valley and the picturesque Mansar Lake in the Kathua district.
The Army Commander, Lt General P C Bhardwaj, Director, Sher-e-Kashmir Police Academy , Mr Naveen Aggarwal, District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Mr Ajay Khajuria, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Udhampur and Reasi Range , Mr Alok Puri and senior civil, Army and Police were among those present at the inaugural ceremony.
Mr Balwant Singh Mankotia, MLA, Udhampur, also met the Governor and requested for utilization of the funds of about Rs 4 crore allocated for the off-Campus of Jammu University in the district for which purpose 227 kanals of land had already been identified.
Earlier, during his first visit to the Headquarters of Northern Command at Udhampur, the Governor was given a briefing on the overall security situation in the State. He interacted with various ranks at the Headquarters.
The First Lady, Mrs Usha Vohra, who accompanied the Governor during his visit to Udhampur, visited the Asha School for special children and Drona Boys Hostel, being run by the Army, as part of the welfare measures undertaken for the people of Jammu and Kashmir . She appreciated the civil-action programmes of the Army, hoping that these will ameliorate the lot of the targeted segments of the society.
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