No proposal to widen Rawalpora–Rangreth, Natipora–Nowgam roads: Govt

Srinagar, Oct 28: The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that there is currently no proposal to widen or upgrade key road corridors in Srinagar, including the Rawalpora–Rangreth, Rambagh–Chadoora, Natipora–Nowgam, and Barzulla–Srinagar International Airport stretches, citing severe land and cost constraints.

In a written reply to a question by MLA Mushtaq Guroo in the Legislative Assembly, the Public Works (R&B) Department stated that widening these routes would involve massive land and structure acquisition, as they pass through densely built-up residential and commercial areas with limited available right of way.

“The widening proposal will involve significant cost implications, since acquisition of private land with many existing residential and commercial structures would be required,” the department said in its reply.

However, the government informed that a separate proposal for constructing a flyover from Barzulla to Humhama has been submitted to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) as part of the NH-444 alignment. “Once the alignment gets approved, the DPR for the said flyover shall be taken up to decongest the stretch and ensure hassle-free traffic movement on this vital road from Barzulla to Humhama International Airport,” the department added.