Umaisar Gull Ganie
Srinagar, Nov 15: With the onset of winters, people in Kashmir have started relocating to plains to escape the cold.
Currently, the main surface link connecting Srinagar-Jammu highway connecting Kashmir to the outside world is crowded with vehicles as people shift to warmer zones. The construction of tunnels on the highway has especially made the commute easier and faster.
Mohammad Ashraf (45), who was waiting for a cab at Qazigund market to travel to Jammu said, “For the last seven years, I prefer to shift to Jammu in winters as weather is warm there.”
He said a series of tunnels on the highway has reduced the distance between Srinagar to Jammu and has made commuting easier.
Chenani-Nashri tunnel, India’s longest highway tunnel (nine km long), 8.5 km long Navyug tunnel and Nandni tunnels have cut the travel time to half from 12 hours and reduced the distance to 260 kilometers from 300 kilometers.
The only disruption is traffic jams due to the narrow stretch between Banihal to Nashri on the highway.
“The government should complete the work on the widening of Srinagar-Jammu national highway as soon as possible to avoid accidents and disruption,” the commuter said.
Project Director and Regional Officer National Highway Authority of India Purshottam Kumar said that there are several packages in the national highway and every package has different deadlines.
The work on the last portion was started in August this year and it is to be completed in three years, so the four-laning of the highway will be completed by August 2025.
Officials said that with the four-laning, travel time would be reduced to half as the distance would be reduced by 50 kms bypassing a number of treacherous points. “The work on the Banihal-Nashri stretch, the most problematic, is underway. The stretch often witnesses landslides with rains leading to closure of the highway,” they said.
Superintendent of Police Ramban, Mohita Sharma, who is also in-charge SSP Traffic NH told KNO that they will try to manage traffic smoothly on the highway this winter—(KNO)
