Jahangeer Ganaie
Jammu Tawi, Nov 02: The widening of Srinagar-Jammu national
highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of
the country, would be completed by 2025, an official said.
Project Director and Regional Officer National Highway Authority
of India Purshottam Kumar told that there are different packages
in the national highway and every package has different
deadlines.
He cited the example of Banhial sector saying it is divided in
three parts with different deadlines.
The work on the last portion was started in August this year and it
is to be completed in three years, so the whole national highway
four-laning will be completed by August 2025.
The widening work of the highway started in 2011 and was
expected to be completed within five years.
Officials said that with the four-laning, travel time would be
reduced by half as the distance would be reduced by 50 kms
bypassing a number of treacherous points.
They said that work on the Banihal-Nashri stretch, the most
problematic, is underway. The stretch often witnesses landslides
with rains leading to closure of the highway.
In 2020, in view of the topography of the hilly terrain between
Ramban and Banihal, a detailed project report (DPR) worth Rs
2,000 crore was formulated by the NHAI to complete the 16-km
four-laning realigned project. This includes more tunnels and
bridges to avoid landsliding and sinking areas.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in
July this year had said that work on the 60-km-road between
Nashri and Banihal, in Ramban district, will be completed by
December 7, 2023.
