National Conference MP Muhammad Akbar Lone on Thursday decried the measure of not allowing fruit-laden trucks to ply smoothly on Srinagar-Jammu highway, saying the administration has turned mute spectator to the problems faced by the apple growers.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Lone, according to a statement said the unnecessary stalling of the movement of fruit trucks on the highway by the forces and traffic police results in loss of fruit. He said the measure of creating bottlenecks on the highway connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country besides halting vital economic activities of J&K was also creating distressing among people associated with the transport sector.
Lone said people associated with horticulture sector despite the neglect of the government kept the viable sector going by borrowing money to purchase the required pesticides and fertilizers, pinning hopes on the annual produce to repay the loan. He urged the centre to ensure up gradation of Mughal Road as a viable alternative to Jammu –Srinagar highway and make it an all weather linkage between Kashmir and the rest of the country. Meanwhile, the party expressed dismay over the dilapidated condition of roads in south Kashmir and the national highway.
While expressing concern over the incessant traffic jams on the highway and the main inner arterials due to the awfully bad condition of the roads, the party’s south zone President Bashir Ahmed Veeri said commuters were at the receiving end and have to undergo enormous trepidation due to bad condition of the roads.
“The traffic jams have become a regular feature on the highway and main roads in south Kashmir due to the bad condition of the roads. The authorities are in slumber and have failed to mitigate the problem, haunting the commuters on a daily basis,” Veeri said. He said the undue delay in the upkeep and up gradation of the inner arterials in south Kashmir and the highway itself was compounding the problem of everyday traffic jams.
“Ideally the divisional administration should have ensured necessary repair of roads before the onset of winter, which unfortunately isn’t being done. It is no less than a nightmare to travel on national highway, as well as inter-district routes,” he said. He urged the administration to ensure swift refurbish of highways and other main roads in south Kashmir to ensure people do not have to suffer in the winter.