J&K Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari on Saturday demanded immediate opening of Kishtwar-Sinthan and Mughal road for passenger vehicular traffic in order to mitigate sufferings of people living in Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal region.
In a statement, Bukhari observed at a time when COVID19 lockdown restrictions have been eased out across the country, people of the hilly districts of Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal region in J&K have been subjected to further miseries by closing the vital roads which connect them with the summer capital Srinagar.
“Businessmen, traders, shopkeepers and nomadic families are not being allowed to travel on these roads. Sinthan road provides an alternate route to the people of the entire Jammu to reach Srinagar without facing the frequent emergency situations on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. One fails to understand under which laws and COVID19 guidelines, the travel on this vital road has been barred by the district administration?” Bukhari asked.
He urged the LG Manoj Sinha to take a thorough review of the circumstances for which Sinthan and Mughal road connectivity links have been closed and order the necessary instructions in this regard.
He invited his attention towards pending construction on a Union government approved tunnel connecting Singhtur and Vailoo on Sinthan road which was yet to be started. “This tunnel will not only reduce the distance significantly but it can make this road a dependable and an all weather route for whole of Jammu,” he remarked.
Bukhari said closure of Sinthan road has deprived a huge population of Jammu province of benefits of this alternative route besides reducing the tourism potential in the area.
Similarly, Bukhari said, inhabitants of Rajouri and Poonch districts were craving for opening of historic Mughal road for passenger vehicular traffic so that they reach Srinagar in a hassle free manner.