CS seeks faster movement of fruit trucks on Sgr-Jmu NH
Srinagar, July 15: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo Monday chaired a meeting at the civil secretariat here with the stakeholders to work out a strategy to further reduce the travel time on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for the fruit-laden trucks.
Regarding the movement of fruit-laden trucks from Kashmir, the chief secretary stressed on making a comprehensive plan for the smooth movement of these vehicles to further reduce the travel time for perishable items.
He asked for marking the fruit-laden trucks with specially designed stickers for identification and giving unhindered access to reach the Mandis outside so that the growers do not suffer any losses.
While calling for enhancing the level of enforcement, especially on the critical stretches of the road, the chief secretary told the officers to utilise alternate assets like Mughal Road and Jawahar Tunnel optimally to reduce the traffic congestion on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
He asked them to ensure that oil tankers and other empty trucks moving towards Jammu should be directed towards Mughal Road.
The chief secretary said that the fruit trucks should have the option to make use of the Jawahar tunnel in case there is an apprehension of delay via the Qazigund tunnel.
He asked the concerned officers to make use of lean windows optimally by diverting most of the heavy vehicles during the underutilized period.
The chief secretary also asked the NHAI to further improve the overall road surface besides blacktopping of potholed portions near Magarkote and sort out all other minor issues without any undue delay.
Earlier, in his presentation, IG Traffic Bhim Sen Tuti highlighted the pattern of traffic on the highway through various studies and algorithms.
He presented the day-wise and seasonal behaviour of traffic along with an analysis of the time taken by each class and the size of the vehicle.
Tuti also dwelt upon causal analysis of each aspect of this traffic behaviour besides highlighting certain remedial measures.
He said that travel time had reduced considerably between Navyug and Chenani-Nashri tunnels over the corresponding years due to efficient traffic management and better road surface.
The meeting was also attended by the Additional Chief Secretary, Home; Principal Secretary, APD; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; and other senior officers while Jammu-based officers participated virtually.
