STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Calling for need to prioritise maintenance of NH, Mughal Road, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said improvement in roads will also facilitate tourists and pilgrims during the ensuing Amarnath Yatra. This was stressed while Lt. Gen. R. M. Mittal, Director General (DG), Border Roads Organization (BRO), called on him here on Thursday.
Chief Minister had earlier also highlighted the need for carrying out urgent repairs of NHW I-A during the 4th May meeting in New Delhi.
Minister for Public Works, Syed Altaf Bukhari, Principal Secretary, P&D, B.R Sharma, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, B.B Vyas, Commissioner / Secretary, Public Works, Rohit Kansal, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Samoon and Chief Engineer, R&B, Kashmir, Satish Razdan, were also present on the occasion.
On the issue of expediting work on Srinagar-Anantnag road stretch on National Highway 1-A, Mufti Sayeed stressed upon BRO to maintain the road, which is in a critical condition. The stretch presently falls in the jurisdiction of NHAI and due to slow pace of work commuters have to face lot of problems on a day-to-day basis.
Referring to the repairs of Srinagar-Qazigund stretch, Minister for Public Works said the road length is presently being repaired by Public Works Department out of its own resources at a cost of Rs.14 crore to make it roadworthy. He, however, said the BRO will have to take over the road, till the four-lanning of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway is completed.
The DG BRO also briefed Mufti Sayeed about the present status on construction of Z-Morh Tunnel, which will provide all-weather Srinagar-Kargil-Leh connectivity. He said work on 6.5 km-long tunnel will commence shortly.
Mittal informed the Chief Minister that Sopore Bridge is nearing completion and will be commissioned in the next few days.
The Chief Minister directed Commissioner / Secretary, Public Works, to pursue with Union Ministry of Road Transport & National Highways the issue of transferring Batote-Kishtwar-Sinthan Road to BRO. He also called upon BRO to immediately start repairs on Achabal-Sinthan Road, which is presently being looked after by BRO.
Once entrusted with maintaining Anantnag-Sinthan-Kishtwar-Batote Road, BRO will be able to provide yet another strategic link that connects Jammu with Kashmir Valley.
The Chief Minister said he will also take up with the Union Government the issue of transfer of strategic Baramulla-Uri Road to BRO so that it can be double- lanned.
On the issue of obtaining NoCs for Dhar-Mahanpur and Kangan-Barnoi roads, the Chief Minister asked Commissioner / Secretary, Public Works, to take up the matter with the concerned departments.
He also raised the issue of prioritizing Bhaderwah-Bani-Basohli-Sarthal, Ramban-Rajouri (via Mahore), Bandipora-Gurez, Handwara-Bangus and Loran-Basamgali-Tangmarg Roads so that inter-district connectivity is improved in the State.