Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 16: Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways Ajay Tamta wrapped up a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday after an extensive inspection of key National Highway projects followed by a high-level review meeting held at the Convention Centre, Jammu yesterday.
During the visit, the MoS travelled the entire Srinagar-Jammu section of NH-44, inspecting the Qazigund-Banihal and Chenani-Nashri tunnels, the landslide-prone Ramban-Banihal stretch and the ongoing Srinagar and Jammu Ring Road projects being executed by NHAI. He also assessed the Chenani-Sudhmahadev stretch and the proposed Sudhmahadev-Dranga tunnel alignment under NHIDCL.
Senior officers of NHAI, NHIDCL, BRO, PWD and MoRTH accompanied him during the field inspections.
The review meeting was attended by Members Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma and Sat Pal Sharma, MLAs Chandra Prakash Ganga, Yudhvir Sethi, Vikram Randhawa, Arvind Gupta and Surendra Bhagat besides senior officials from all highway agencies.
The officials briefed the Minister on the progress of ongoing and upcoming works funded by MoRTH, covering projects being executed by NHAI, NHIDCL, BRO and PWD across the Union Territory.
Highlighting the shift since 2014, Ajay Tamta said that Jammu and Kashmir has undergone an "unprecedented transformation" in road and transport infrastructure. Before 2014, highway development in the region was limited, with difficult terrain, frequent landslides and poor all-weather connectivity. Since then, works worth nearly Rs 1.35 lakh crore have been taken up. Of this, 700 km worth Rs 20,000 crore have been completed, 2,300 km worth Rs 50,000 crore are under construction and DPRs for another 707 km worth Rs 65,000 crore are being prepared.
He said that tunnel construction has been a major focus and only five tunnels existed in J&K before 2014. Today, the Jammu-Srinagar corridor alone has 25 tunnels with 20 completed and five under construction, he added. Strategic projects such as the Zojila Tunnel, Digdol-Khooni Nallah, Sungal, Bhimber Gali, Sinthan Pass, Sudhmahadev, Sadhna Pass, Peer Ki Gali and the parallel Chenani-Nashri alignment are expected to ensure reliable, year-round connectivity.
The meeting was informed that Rs 16,000-crore Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar four-lane corridor has achieved 95 percent progress. Once complete, it will cut the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar from nine hours to about four hours and reduce the distance by nearly 70 km. Tunnels, viaducts, bypasses and landslide protection measures are turning the NH-44 into a safer all-weather route. To further strengthen resilience, works worth Rs 230 crore are being taken up at 15 vulnerable locations between Udhampur and Banihal, while bypasses worth Rs 600 crore have already been completed at Banihal, Ramban, Ashajipora, Seri and Makarkote.
Four high-speed corridors worth Rs 50,000 crore including Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar, Jammu-Chenani-Anantnag, Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri and Jammu-Akhnoor are under construction. These will improve the access to the Kashmir Valley, Chenab Valley, Rajouri-Poonch, North Kashmir and key border areas, aiding the tourism, trade and defence mobility. The 670-km Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway, costing Rs 41,000 crore, will also strengthen the pilgrimage connectivity. Within J&K, 143 km of the expressway worth Rs 11,500 crore is slated for completion by August 2027, reducing Delhi-Katra distance by 58 km.
The meeting was further told that the urban mobility is being addressed through ring roads. The 104-km Srinagar Ring Road, costing Rs 7,200 crore, will divert through traffic from the city and improve links to Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Gurez, Kargil and Leh. The 58-km Jammu Ring Road is nearing completion with 53 km already operational while DPR work is underway for the 33-km Eastern Jammu Ring Road. |
