Dilapidated condition of a stretch of the Mughal Road and checking of every vehicle by Army at Poshan Check are the two major causes of traffic jam on the road that has emerged as an alternative to Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, officials said on Friday.
During a review meeting on the Mughal Road chaired byDivisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Khan, Deputy Commissioner Shopian andChief Engineer Mughal Road informed that the 21-km Hirpora-Pir ki Gali stretchwas in a bad shape. Also, Army takes two to three minutes to scan a vehicle,leading to “accumulation of traffic”.
“With the result, some vehicles get stranded at Pir Ki Galifor five to six hours and the administration has to clear the stranded vehiclesthe entire night,” read the minutes of the meeting.
Deputy Commissioner Shopian has proposed random checking ofvehicles by the army besides upgrade of the damaged road stretch and sheltersheds for stranded passengers.
A senior official who was part of the meeting said Khandirected the Chief Engineer Mughal Road to ensure the repairs are carried outwithin two days. “The meeting alsodecided to take up the issue of checking with army top brass,” he said.