Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad Thursday said the state government should come up with some “people-friendly strategy” to ensure safety of forces and hassle-free movement of civilians on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.
Commenting on the government order restricting movement of civilian vehicles on thehighway on Sunday and Wednesday every week to facilitate movement of forces’convoys, Azad said: “Both things (safety of forces and hassle-free movement ofcivilians) are very important, but the government has to make peoplecomfortable”.
“Security of forces moving along the highway is paramount,but at the same time civilian traffic between Kashmir and Jammu is equallyimportant. I think they (government) should have found a solution like half-dayusage of road for both (forces and civilians) instead of completely shuttingthe highway for civilian traffic for two days a week,” he said.
“Stopping traffic for two straight days would mean a lot ofhue and cry. I recognise that both issues are important and the governmentshould find a people-friendly and an acceptable solution,” he said.
Endorsing a suggestion given by former chief minister andNational Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah that movement of forces can beensured via special trains, Azad said: “That is one of the solutions. Forcescan be transported from any part of the country till Udhampur and then a smallstretch till Banihal can be covered by road. Thereafter, the forces personnelcan be shifted in special trains for onward journey to Kashmir”.