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| Alternate highway connecting Kashmir with Jammu in shambles | | R&B department yet to awake from 'deep sleep' | | Jehangir Rashid
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Dec 17: Thanks to official 'apathy' a parallel highway connecting Kashmir with various districts of Jammu division is in shambles and the people at helm are yet to understand the importance of the highway.
Natipora-Nowgam-Newa road connecting Central Kashmir and North Kashmir with South Kashmir as well as some districts of Jammu division is in a pathetic condition. The people who travel by this road complain of total mismanagement and opine that the concerned department is yet to awake from the 'slumber'.
The Natipora-Nowgam-Newa road connects North Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Bandipora, Kupwara and Central Kashmir districts of Srinagar and Budgam with South Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam. It is the same road that from Shopian onwards leads to the districts of Poonch and Rajouri in the Jammu division.
Over the years this road has been used as an alternate highway to the existing Srinagar-Jammu national highway. Despite the importance, the Roads and Buildings (R & B) department is yet to make the road fit so that it could sustain the pressure of the traffic.
"The entire stretch of road is very narrow and no step whatsoever has been taken to widen it. Thousands of vehicles including trucks pass on the road and as such the pressure of traffic is enormous. Since this road has assumed the importance of a highway it is more than important that widening process is taken up immediately," said Mohammad Haroon, a resident of Kanipora.
The stretch of the road from Natipora onwards is in a dilapidated condition and the condition is worse from Nowgam bye-pass onwards. Ditches, pot-holes and cracks have come up on the road and the repairs are awaited. The narrowness of the road makes it more vulnerable to accidents, but the department continues to be unmoved.
"Ideally the road should have been four lane, but the truth of matter it is hardly double lane. There are areas where the road gets shrunk even to single lane. However, despite this no action has been taken so that the road is widened. God forbid if an accident takes place on the road then the casualties may be huge. It seems the government is waiting for an accident to take place to get awakened from the slumber," said Abdul Majeed, a resident of Dangarpora.
It would be in place to mention here that R & B ministry headed by Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari has claimed that it has brought a revolution in the road sector across the state. However, to the disappointment of people residing adjacent to Natipora-Nowgam-Newa road the ministry is yet to deliver the goods.
"A portion of this alternate highway falls under the Amira Kadal assembly segment represented by Altaf Bukhari in the assembly.
Still then the legislator has not done anything for the development of this road. Same can be said about Minister for Revenue Javed Mustafa Mir who represents many areas falling on this important road and people continue to suffer," said Nisar Ahmad, a resident of Magraypora. |
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