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| Following complaints, Nitin Gadkari to review Srinagar-Jammu NH widening | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, July 8: Following complaints of allegedly faulty execution of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway widening, Union Minister for Roads and Transport, Nitin Gadkari is likely to personally review the works.
Sources said Gadkari has taken a serious note of the complaints including video evidence that the crores being spent on the highway widening were “getting washed away quite literally when it’s supposed to be all weather road.”
Whereas for the last few years, there were repeated complaints that “unprofessional blasting” along the highway had left the mountains even fragile for landslides, experts have also questioned the realignment of the road near the Panthhiyal which since the inauguration of the tunnel is “facing even deadly landslides and shooting stones.”
Sources said Gadkari has been personally monitoring the developments and that the ministry would soon order an inquiry to look into the reasons behind the frequent road blockades and the washing away of the highway.
“Unlike the past when there would mainly be landslides now major chunks of the widened highway get washed away and the shooting stones on the other hand have become even deadly so a review is needed to see if the things are going the right direction or not,” said a source privy to the corridors of power in the national capital.
Gadkari had visited Kashmir in April 2023 and promised that the road network would be upgraded at par with international standards.
Known for his commitment towards Vikas or development across country, Gadkari is likely to initially seek report from the National Highway Authorities of India about the complaints pouring in about the highway widening.
Meanwhile the traffic movement has been temporarily suspended on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on July 8 following multiple landslides triggered by heavy overnight rainfall, officials said.
Several landslides struck the national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, at Mehar, Cafeteria Morh, Keela Morh, Sita Ram Passi and Panthiyal in Ramban, the officials said. They said a portion of the road leading to the Panthiyal tunnel was washed away.
A traffic department official said work was underway to clear the road and repair the affected sections despite the incessant rains. |
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