Make condition of roads better

The road connectivity has been revolutionised across the country. New highways and tunnels have come up on a large scale making the travel smoother and reducing the travel time. A number of tunnels were also constructed on the Srinagar – Jammu National Highway, work on Zojila tunnel is in progress and a tunnel for Mughal Road has been planned. Besides, tunnels are being constructed in Pir Panjal area.

The whole idea behind all this is to provide better roads on large scale for the travellers. There is also a need to make the condition of Srinagar-Jammu highway, Srinagar-Leh highway, and Mughal Road better. The landslides and shooting stones keep on disrupting the traffic movement. And sometimes there is loss of lives in the related mishaps. There is no doubt that concerned officials are maintaining the roads sometimes amid very challenging circumstances particularly during the harsh winter months. But heavy rains in other months also trigger landslides and shooting stones, giving a tough time to the personnel on the ground, maintaining the road.

There is need for long term and short term measures to deal with such frequent problems. Maintenance of the roads and highways is of great importance for smooth traffic movement. Any slight disruption then leads to massive traffic jamming and it takes hours to clear the jam. There is a need for upgradation of Mughal Road so that this road also becomes a preferable choice for large number of travellers. The proposed tunnel to make it an all weather road must come up at the earliest. The Zojila tunnel on Srinagar – Leh road is expected to be completed in 2026 to make the highway all weather road.

These tunnels will surely bring a sea change in the road connectivity and make the travel smoother and shorter. However, making the condition of rest of roads is equally important. The other roads in upper reaches and plains must also undergo further improvement wherever needed. The road connectivity is of great importance for both rural and urban areas. There are some roads, which get closed during winter, in upper reaches. The people living at these places remain cut off, in terms of surface connectivity, from outside world for months together. Lack of facilities in these areas add to the problems of the people there.

Attention must also be paid towards such roads and if possible efforts made to make those as all weather roads in future. Condition of several roads in Srinagar city is not that good. Same is the case with several roads in some towns and villages. Necessary steps should be taken to make the condition of the roads better.