Commuters fume as traffic ends up in a mess on Jmu-Sgr highway
Srinagar: Hundreds of vehicles got stranded on Srinagar-Jammu highway at Qazigund after authorities stalled their movement to pave way for an Army convoy on Tuesday.
Authorities on Tuesday had allowed traffic from Srinagar to Jammu, however, as the commuters proceeded towards Jammu, they were made to halt at Qazigund for couple of hours.
A passenger on way to Jammu said that they got stranded for four hours at Qazigund. “An army convoy was allowed to move from Jammu to Srinagar. To pave way for their smooth movement, authorities put thousands of passengers in trouble,” he said.
Another passenger said that it would have been better if traffic would have been allowed from Jammu to Srinagar. “When authorities knew army convoy would move towards Srinagar, why did it inform the commuters that traffic will move from Srinagar to Jammu on Tuesday,” he added.
They said that a gridlock of traffic created mess in Qazigund. “We were just treated like cattle,” they added.
When contacted, a traffic official said that they had no alternative but to pave way for the army convoy.
“We regret if commuters have faced any inconvenience,” he said adding that landslide at Ramban also was the reason for traffic mess near Qazigund.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General (IG) Traffic, Alok Kumar visited NH44 in Ramban and inspected crucial sliding areas to review the status of road clearance operations with the Police, Traffic Police and civil administration.
The IG Traffic deliberated on the condition of the highway especially at Anokhifal, Digdol and other vulnerable locations and the necessary measures needed to be taken, with the local administration besides representatives of executing agencies.
He directed the concerned to take adequate steps for ensuring smooth passage of traffic by removing hindrances and proper maintenance of NH 44 at all crucial places to ensure smooth and hassle free movement of vehicles especially during snowfall and rainy season. IG Traffic was informed that due to the ongoing highway widening work the road has been narrowed at various places.
Alok Kumar directed the concerned companies to ensure highway stretch is cleared of any landslide debris and adherence to the traffic regulations.
He directed them to station adequate machinery on identified vulnerable spots including Panthal, Mehad, Mompassi, Marog, Nashri, Peeda, Anokhifal on the basis of the weather forecast and install necessary barriers to ensure better traffic movement. (With CNS inputs)
KV News
