No way to go

This winter weather dropped a severe message – Kashmir is condemned to live in a state of isolation. All roads in and out of this ‘paradise’ are closed, turning life into hell. No matter what, this is our fate. The regions that fall in the contiguity of Kashmir are all inaccessible, and we are thrown into a kind of quarantine. Lot has been written on this subject, and no reason why our newspapers won’t do it in future. These roads, leading in and out of the valley, after all, are the lone surface connections that ensure all kinds of connections among the people living in various regions of this state. The news, in yesterday’s GK, carried about how the Srinagar-Jammu highway expansion is nearing deadline, but no close to completion, is an indicator of how the things stand here. The part between Banihal and Ramban is particularly lagging behind. Another news, of the similar nature, carried yesterday, is about Z-morh tunnel. The work on this tunnel on Srinagar-Kargil highway was halted in July last year. The reason given for this, according to the news report, is that the executing agency ran into financial trouble. The result of this is that this project, like many others in this state, is once again slated to miss the deadline. In the backdrop of these two news reports the weather induced isolation of Kashmir valley is not going to end in near future. In an age where communications have become decisive in all kinds of human transaction – physical, commercial, administrative – the condition of these roads is a permanent source of loss for the people of this state. Just some days back there was a news-report on how enormous the loss suffered by businesses in, because of the closure of these roads. It’s not just the business that suffers; our students who were supposed to take some crucial exams at Jammu were subjected to a trauma when they couldn’t travel to the destination. Similar is the case with many other administrative services. On all counts we suffer, and there is no end to it. Not in the near future, at least.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 × two =