Perilous Pass  | 20-km Zojila stretch lacks important safety measures

Ganderbal, Dec 15: The Srinagar-Leh National Highway passing through the perilous and mountainous Zojila Pass is becoming a death trap for travellers.

This has raised concern among the people, particularly the travellers.

The Zojila Pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway which runs at an elevation of approximately 11,575 feet connects Ladakh with Kashmir and is the main lifeline of the Ladakh Union Territory.

For the businessmen, it is the lifeline that keeps their businesses alive. But these vital links come at a terrible cost.

Over the years the Zojila Pass on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway has witnessed several road accidents, consuming a huge number of lives.

Since December 5, 2023, at least 11 persons died in two fatal road accidents along the Zojila Pass.

As per the commuters and people in general, this stretch of around 20 km long mountainous Zojila Pass from Baltal up to Zero Point lacks any basic facilities including safety measures that could minimise the risk of accidents and fatalities.

The Zojila Pass stretch has no mobile communication and in case of emergency and accidents, the immediate communication delays the rescue operation and of safeguarding of lives.

This mountainous stretch also has no proper crash barriers, signages, and mirrors to enhance visibility and awareness of the highway.

The Zojila Pass also has no quick response teams along the highway that would immediately come to the rescue of the accident victims.

During accidents, the first to reach the spot are teams from Police Station Sonamarg, the SDRF unit from Gund and Border Roads Organisation Project Beacon personnel and officials of the Primary Health Centre Sonamarg.

The SDRF unit at Gund is without any official department vehicle that would ensure their immediate arrival.

However, the Zojila Tunnel is under construction, and once completed, would substantially reduce the accidents and fatalities.

Meanwhile, the district administration of Ganderbal along with civil and police administration, 122 RCC Beacon, and Traffic Police Rural have taken up several short-term measures which would ensure the safety of the travellers.

This collaborative effort seeks to assess the situation comprehensively and implement effective safety measures promptly so that such mishaps are prevented in the future.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, OC BEACON, 122 RCC, Gaurav Tripathi said that they were implementing both short-term and long-term safety measures to safeguard the lives on this critical stretch of road.

"The tasks have already been taken up to identify black spots on the Zojila road stretch. This initiative aims to bolster road safety measures, including raising crash barrier heights and installing signages and mirrors to enhance visibility and awareness,” he said.

Tripathi said that following the recent road accidents along Zojila Pass, some immediate safety measures had already been taken including erecting Hesco barriers with reflecting tapes, signages, and reflecting mirrors.

He said that the ongoing project for long-term measures like the retaining walls and permanent crash barriers was slated for completion in the next year as working under freezing temperatures gets difficult.

Meanwhile, to enhance road safety, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ganderbal, Shyambir has directed the BRO Project Beacon authorities to conduct a thorough trial run before allowing traffic towards Zojila Pass.

He directed for displaying of speed limits prominently at key locations.

The DC appealed to all commuters to strictly adhere to road safety measures, avoiding rash driving on Zojila Pass.