National Highway a death trap as govt looks other way: PDP

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday expressed concernover the frequent fatal road accidents on Jammu- Srinagar highway, terming the294 km road stretch ‘nothing less than a death trap.’

In a statement issued here, senior PDP leader and formerR&B Minister Naeem Akhtar said that the present dispensation in Jammu andKashmir as well as the central government have miserably failed in performingtheir duties due to which scores of people are being killed and the highwaycontinues to remain a death trap for the passengers.

   

The PDP leader added that the connectivity to Kashmir has unfortunately been reduced to minimumrequirement of keeping supplies for security forces only and that civilian traffic,safety of passengers and every thing else has gone haywire.

He added that the upgradation of national highway doesn’tmake any sense unless the portion between Ramban and Banihal is fullytunnelled.  “This will be an exercise infutility because it will always remain a fair whether road.  Fair weather is not only now restricted tothe days when it snows and rains during winters- it is spreading now all overthe year as the mountains have got further destabilised because of blasting and construction.

Akhtar said that there are modern solutions to it which theprevious government had projected to the central government and  but the PDP led government at that time wasinformed that the project report in this is being reviewed and reworked.However, said Akhtar,  the Governoradministration failed to follow it up and with the result Kashmir is destined,perhaps, not to have a all -weather road and a decent highway that could connect the land locked region with therest of the world. “The importance of this issue is lost  as  thegovernment is turning its eyes away from it without any compunction. The senseof siege both at internal as well as at the external level  in Kashmir gets strengthened throughindifference of the government,” said Akhtar.

He added that it is ironic to find the Jawahar Tunnel onSrinagar Jammu highway in shambles even when claims of large scale developmentin the state have become rampant. According to the PDP leader, even after 72 years after the state accededto the Union, people still wait for the all weather road. 

The former minister said that the PDP government had withthe central government discussed in detail the need of tunnelling betweenRamban  and Banihal section so thatvehicular movement on the highway remains uninterrupted and smooth evenduring  the inclement weather.  “Though the proposal was agreed by thecentral government but  the present administrationhas failed to follow it up,” said Akhtar.

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