Jammu, Jan 9: Highways in Jammu and Kashmir would soon have wayside amenities for drivers, Minister for Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon said Wednesday.
He said the step is being taken by the National Highway Authority of India on directions of the state government to reduce the rate of accidents on highways.  “Wayside amenities or rest centers for drivers would be set up on Jammu-Srinagar and Batote-Doda- Kishtwar national highways where the drivers can take rest for some time in case of laziness and refresh themselves for forward journey,” he said.
In this connection, Akhoon said, the Traffic and Transport Departments along with representatives of Beacon and  NHAI would conduct a joint inspection on January 17 to identify the places for  creation of the Roadside Amenities on the twin highways.
The Minister today chaired a high-level meeting of officers of Traffic, Police, Beacon and other concerned departments to take stock of the status of National Highways in the State.
Giving an account of the condition of Batote- Doda- Kishtwar highway, IG Traffic, Munir Ahmed Khan informed the meeting that as per the latest survey held, Premnagar to Thathri has been found as most accident prone area on the road. He said that “some short term measures should be taken to contain the frequent accidents in the area.” “It was also given out in the meeting that 70 kms out of total 110 kms from Batote to Kishtwar have been macadamized and blacktopped,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 Jan 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 IST