Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: Stating that the travelling on Jammu-Srinagar Highway these days is an ordeal and nasty experience for the commuters of late and heavy and very heavy load carriers, Dr Mustafa Kamaal, Additional general secretary of National Conference (NC) today said that BRO has failed to come up to people’s expectations.
He said that the orders of the authorities to allow one way traffic is observed more in breach with Goods carriers and vehicles of the security forces the main offenders. Secondly, he said this highway is stressed to the limit with extra- heavy duty vehicles now seen on the highway in growing numbers choking it at many a places with one of worst places being the Sher Bibi – Ramsoo stretch.
The senior NC leader said that this needs to be reduced which can be done by “Goods Specific traffic management” with passenger vehicles and essentials getting priority; scaling down number of security personnel drastically in the State in general and Kashmir Division in particular and speeding up the remaining work on the two alternate highways of Sinthan and Mughal road to make them all weather roads so that traffic load is reduced considerably on Jammu – Srinagar highway.
Another possibility, he said is using the Srinagar -Muzaffarabad road along the PoK side, which is reportedly a top class road. “With Government of India continuing to be adamant and rigid at ‘No talks with Pakistan’ this could be yet another confidence building goodwill measure which might even bring about a much needed and long and eagerly awaited thaw between the estranged neighbours and end their decades old mutual acrimony and bickering”, he added.
Alleging that the BRO has done nothing to help provide way-side public conveniences because of which ‘getting stranded at forsaken places’ is a horrible experience especially for women and children, Kamaal said it is time the BRO wakes up to the challenge and puts its heart into this life- line of J&K to offset a crisis presently looming large on this highway.
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