Hardly is there any logic left, looking to the enormity of the problem, to stress upon the urgent need to widen the Ambphalla Janipur road in Jammu, looking to the near chocking type of traffic jams and mess on this belt on daily basis because of various factors resulting in considerable hardships to the people. Any type of adopting an approach inconsistent with what is needed to salvage the position, would be at the cost of making the situation more complicated. It is long back felt that the situation had reached such a stage that regulating and conducting of traffic manually on this busiest route with decades old unchanged infrastructure, was out of question and under no one’s capabilities. Construction of a flyover from Shakuntula crossing to Janipur end and widening of Janipur High court road are the two solutions to the mess on these roads which have become increasingly unable to bear the volume of traffic during the entire day from wee hours up to late in the night.
Since hardly things move in this state on its own unless PILs are filed and courts’ intervention is sought, in the instant case too , this measure having been resorted to as back as in early 2013 , the Division Bench of the State High Court having expressed its displeasure over the indifference exhibited by the state administration in addressing this problem, has asked it to constitute a committee to look into the entire issue . It is evident that the previous Government, in which the representation from Jammu was as much as never before and in know of the problem adequately fairly, did not evolve any mechanism or chalked out cogent plans in this regard. And the difficulties, if any, which at least could have been put before the Bench and finding and submitting answers to the satisfaction of the Bench would have not been found so much trying. That directions coming from the court as to how the problem at least could be started to be addressed, speaks about the scepticism, if not confusion with the State administration in this regard.
Why has no action- plan been at least formulated to de- congest the said roads? Six long years can by no count be considered any less in devising at least how the state administration planned to address the problem when it had all means, technical, administrative and the like at its disposal. The Division Bench also observed about there being “enough talent in the higher echelons of the Government “which could take steps deemed necessary in the matter. All these years, at least ancillary and associated paper works connected with road widening and construction of flyover should have been done which attending to at the time of the start of the project simultaneously, become difficult and time consuming. That is regarding acquiring of land and space, compensation to the dislocated people , their settlement or allotting alternate place etc and since sufficient money is required for land acquiring and the State usually is facing problems on that front, arrangements and provisions should have been taken all these years at convenience and within comfortable reach . That being entirely a matter of a mind-set and the will to do, is what the High Court has observed in clear words .
The matter, obviously cannot be kept under the carpet and unattended for any more time and it is to be tackled as early as possible. Agreed, massive funding is required for the project for which the state administration under the Governor must take serious steps as a lot is expected to be done looking to how Governor’s administration has been resolving most of the issues it inherited adequately from the previous Government.
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