Notwithstanding the ongoing lockdown which has mostly restricted the movement of vehicles to essential commodities only, the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway has become a nightmare for the commuters due to its pathetic condition.
The people living along the strategic highway, especially inthe most slide prone Ramban-Banihal sector, are also exasperated over the slowpace of work on the four-laning project being undertaken by the NationalHighway Authority of India (NHAI) over the past nine years.
“This is not a road but has become a virtual deathtrap. You can see the drivers of all types of vehicles, both light and heavy,moving out of their lanes to avoid the massive potholes dotting the highwayright from Samroli to Qazigund, a distance of almost 120-kms, thus increasingthe chances of accidents on the hilly road,” Rajinder Singh, a frequenttraveller between the twin capitals, told PTI.
Singh said he was expecting a smooth ride given the lockdownand restricted movement of vehicles but had the “worst experience” oftravelling on the road from Srinagar to Jammu last week.
“It took me almost six hours to drive the patch of just36 kms from Banihal to Ramban. The road is so bad that vehicles move veryslowly amid blinding dust and this leads to congestion,” he said.
The ongoing work on the four-laning project coupled withlandslides triggered by rains have reduced the breadth of the road at variousplaces to single-way only, Singh added.
S Tariq, another traveller, also shared a horrifyingexperience and said the road construction agencies are flaunting all rules andundertaking work without taking necessary precautionary measures for the safetyof the commuters.
“On Friday when I and two of my family membersincluding a minor were moving from Srinagar to Jammu, a JCB on work ahead ofPanthiyal threw a large amount of debris including rocks inside my vehicle. We,especially the minor who was sleeping in the backseat and woke up frightened,fortunately escaped unhurt,” he said, adding their protest fell on deafears.
A college student, who wished not to be named, said thewomen travellers are the worst sufferers as they do not find any place to attendthe call of nature.
“The lockdown not only closed the hotels, restaurantsand eateries but also the washrooms en route. One finds it very difficult tofind a facility to ease herself,” she said.
Ashok Kumar, a truck driver, said it is pathetic that thegovernment is not paying any heed to the worst condition of the road. “At least, please fill up the potholeswhich are causing damage to our vehicles,” he pleaded.
The highway widening work was started in 2011 and it wastargeted to be completed within five years from its commencement. Thefour-laning of the highway would reduce the time of travel on the highway byhalf from the present eight to nine hours after shortening the distance betweenthe two cities by 50 kms, bypassing a number of treacherous points.
However, the highway project has already missed a number ofdeadlines due to sluggish pace of work, while fresh deadlines have been set forthe completion of work on Nashri-Ramban and Ramban-Banihal-Qazigund sectorswhich also include several key tunnels including the Banihal-Qazigund tunnel,between December 2020 and 2021.
“Our life has become miserable ever since the work onthe highway project started. The executing agencies have outsourced their workto local contractors who do not have much expertise and experience of cuttingmountains, as a result of which we are facing increased landslide activity evenif there is a drizzle,” Mohammad Taskeen, a resident of Ramban, said. Hesaid sprinkling water on the road by the executing agencies is just a cosmeticexercise to silence the local residents who are at the risk of health issuesdue to excessive inhalation of dust which is emitted from the work sites.
Referring to the recent massive landslide and sinking whichdamaged 40 residential houses and rendered hundreds of families homeless atDalwas village in Ramban in March, he alleged that this was the direct falloutof the unplanned execution of work on the project.
“A few electricity transmission towers also gotuprooted and some others are also under threat,” Taskeen said, claimingthat the road has been completely neglected since it was handed over to theNHAI for widening and upgradation.
Manohar Lal, another local resident, said traffic jams havebecome a routine affair for the commuters travelling on the highway even as themovement of the traffic was restricted to one-way, playing alternatively fromSrinagar and Jammu, over the past two years.
The major reason for the traffic jam is the worst conditionof the road, he said.
Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sanjeev Verma, said therepair work on the highway could not take place on time this season due to theprevailing situation in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are going through difficult times and there is ashortage of labour. We are going to start the repair work on the highwayshortly,” he said.
The road usually gets damaged during winters owing tolandslides triggered by snowfall and heavy rains, Verma said.
“Last year, we repaired the highway on time but this time it could not be possible due to shortage of the labourers,” he said. PTI