Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 15: Committed to making Jammu and Kashmir a developed region in years to come, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has taken several steps, and as a part of this vision, the Lakhanpur-Doda highway will be made an all-weather connectivity for the overall progress of the region.
The connectivity as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the strategically important Lakhanpur-Basohli-Bani-Bhaderwah-Doda National Highway is ready, according to which the distance on this route will be cut down by more than 100 kilometers. The project will prove to be an important link to connect erstwhile Doda district (Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban) with the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway and the Delhi-Katra Expressway.
“As per the proposed DPR, the distance between Jammu-Pathankot national highway and Doda district will be reduced by over 100 kilometers,” an official said. Notably, the current distance from Lakhanpur to Doda via NH44 is about 260 kilometers and it will be reduced to about 140 kilometers with the completion of the strategic highway.
“Nearly one dozen tunnels are proposed on the highway,” said an official, adding that several concerns were also submitted by the locals, which are also being taken into consideration.
“The proposal of the Balasundari Tunnel has also been included in the highway that starts from Rajbagh and passes through the hills of Mata Balasundari in Billawar,” they added, “to reduce the distance between Sheetalnagar in Basohli and Bani, an eight-kilometer-long tunnel is also proposed, which will make the journey easier and lesser time consuming with its opening near Sarthal while landslide prone areas of Basohli and Billawar will be cut off.”
Official sources, as per the proposed DPR, further said the 6.8-km Chattergala tunnel will connect the erstwhile Doda region to Kathua by bypassing Chattergala top.
“Once the project is completed, as proposed, the hilly areas of Kathua district, like Basohli, Bani, and Sarthal, will witness a major development, and the local population will benefit from employment during the construction work,” said an official.
The proposal for the Chattergala tunnel, they said, was initiated about six years ago, and the DPR was also prepared by the BRO, but it could not be started due to some administrative issues, said an official, adding that it has been decided that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will construct a new national highway from Lakhanpur to Basohli-Bani via Bhaderwah-Pul Doda.
He said not only will the travel time be reduced significantly, but this will also boost trade, create employment, and generate revenue for the locals. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who is a third-time Member Parliament in Kathua-Udhampur Constituency, said, “The idea was conceived in 2015-16, but due to some unavoidable reasons, it could not mature.”
“The NHAI is now taking up the project, and the proposed Detailed Project Report (DPR) has already been submitted to them,” Dr Singh told UNI. He said, “the Lakhanpur-Bani-Basohli-Doda is more than Rs 4000 crore project and may take six to seven years to complete with a major tunnel at Chattergala in Bhaderwah to make it an all weather road connectivity.”
“The Lakhanpur to Doda distance will cut down by over 100-km with once this all weather highway is commissioned,” adding Dr Singh said that from a security viewpoint vis-a-vis tourism and trade, it will reform this region and flourish to a larger extent, particularly in the unexplored Bani area. |
