Rajneesh Anand
I have been travelling on Jammu Srinagar highway since my childhood. It was then called national highway number 1A or NH1A. Recently, it has been re-christened as NH144. Have witnessed many changes on this route. From a thin ribbon where two vehicles could barely fit in, it has now expanded into four lane state-of-the-art highway. The route was lengthier and there were just two tunnels in its total stretch of around 300 kilometres – the Nandani tunnel and Jawhar tunnel. And it used to take around 12 hours to travel the distance between the two capitals of the state.
Lot of modernisation has taken place on this highway which is strategically very important for the nation, being a vital road link with the valley of Kashmir and areas beyond. Many new tunnels have come up with the longest Chenani-Nashri tunnel of more than nine kilometres. Overall distance has reduced and journey time has come down to almost half. Ramban-Banihal stretch is still under construction and proving to be tricky. But several new tunnels and bridges will ultimately make this part of the highway pliable.
The part of this highway which has experienced quite big modification, lies in the Nandani hills. After crossing Nagrota town the highway climbed the sandy hills of Nandani, which form the part of Shivalik range. The road had many serpentine turns and passed through several deep gorges made by various rivulets. Driving on this part of the highway always proved to be a test for your patience. Heavily loaded trucks moved at snail’s pace and it was very very tough to overtake them as it was a two way road. Several U-turns made overtaking impossible and driving at the pace of trucks proved too much for any driver. This stretch of the highway proved fatal for many passengers and drivers.
Under four-laneing project, four tunnels have been constructed in the Nandani hills and one can now zoom through this part of the highway in minutes. All those patience testing U-turns have disappeared.
Recently, got an opportunity to participate in a trek organised by Deptt. of Wildlife in Nandani hills. The starting and end point of the trek was office of Wildlife Deptt at Nandani just next to old Nandani tunnel. Learnt from the officials of the department that the old Nandani road was still motor able. So for old times sake travelled on this road from Nandani to Ban toll plaza.
The starting point of this journey- Nandani- bore a desolate look. All shops had their shutters down with no customers around. The place used to be famous for paneer pakodas. Few dhabas were famous for rajma-chawal. The area used to be heavily crowded during weekends as picnickers would stop here for delicious snacks and tea. Now only few BRO and Wildlife Deptt employees were visible. One tube of the Nandani tunnel is still operational.
Driving on the curvaceous road towards Ban Toll Plaza was quiet comfortable as there was no traffic on this road. The condition of the road was good. Another missing element in this journey was hoards of monkeys. These arboreal creatures used to sit on both the sides of the road expecting eatables from drivers and passengers. We humans had turned monkeys into beggars. Travellers dropped bread and eatables from moving vehicles and monkeys ran on the roads to collect them, putting theirs as well as the travellers’ lives in danger. With no vehicular traffic now, the monkeys too have migrated to greener pastures.
The highlight of this 9-10 kilometre journey was seeing the memorial of Major General Atma Singh. It was a clear proof of the fact that the Indian Army never forgets its soldiers. Major General Atma Singh died in a fatal jeep accident at this bend in the Nandani road in 1949. Army had built a memorial in his name at the place of the accident. Felt proud to note that the army is still maintaining his memorial though the approach road is no longer in use. The memorial had been freshly painted and the area was clean.
Tried to locate a sculpture created by local artist Ravinder Singh Jamwal. It was built on a hillock clearly visible from the road. But vagaries of climate had demolished it and no signs of it were visible.
The sandy hillocks of Nandani hide a mysterious aura in them pushing one to discover it among various twists and turns of the hills. Many rivulets originate from various folds of the mountains feeding a rich flora and fauna. Since the area is now more or less undisturbed, the vegetation has come up with more vigour and greenery. A small but beautiful waterfall was clearly visible. The whole area is full of natural undulations whose charm is dwarfed by the man-made tunnels and bridges. At places, the new highway rises several feet high above the old road on concrete pillars. One can only wonder over the technological advancements which have made this possible.
Also passed by the sandstone natural wall-like hill near the first new tunnel on this highway. This wall has an inclination of around 80 degrees and it keeps challenging the adventurers to climb on it. Many companies had started painting hoardings on this rock taking advantage of its height and visibility. The court had to intervene to stop this practice for preserving the natural shape and texture of this huge rock.
Overall, it was a pleasant journey which brought back memories of old time. The world moves on. Technology and advancements have created new paths and at the same time given back to nature what belonged to it. The old road is now back in the lap of the nature and nature knows what is best for it.
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