Highway blockade: Restrictions on civilian traffic on Jmu-Sgr Highway relaxed further
Srinagar: Restrictions on the movement of civilian traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway were further relaxed on Tuesday, with the authorities partially lifting the ban on public vehicles on the Srinagar-Udhampur stretch.
The restrictions on civilian traffic in the Srinagar-Udhampur section of the national highway-44 will be lifted on Wednesdays with effect from May 23, according to an official statement.
“The prohibition on civilian traffic in this stretch would now be only on Sunday(s),” it said.
The authorities had earlier relaxed the ban on the Srinagar-Baramula stretch.
“The Government has been reviewing the restrictions imposed earlier this month on civilian movement on the National Highway (NH-44) connecting Jammu to Srinagar with a view to balancing the security needs of Forces’ Convoys with the need for minimizing public inconvenience,” an official spokesman said here.
“These restrictions became necessary following the large movement of security forces on an unprecedented scale after the Pulwama terror attack. These forces were required both for anti-militancy operations and for conducting general elections peacefully,” he said.
“The Government is alive to the needs of citizens and has once again reviewed the requirement of security forces. Following the completion of elections in Pulwama and Shopian districts and as the requirement of security forces is now reducing, the Government has decided to further relax the restrictions,” the official said.
He said that the restriction on civilian movement between Srinagar and Udhampur on NH-44 will be lifted on Wednesday’s w.e.f. 13-05-2019. The prohibition on civilian traffic in this stretch would now be only on Sunday.
The official said that the local administration would continue to facilitate movement of civilian traffic as has been happening so far, including by allowing public transport of JKSRTC to move during the period of restriction on the NH.
The restrictions on civilian traffic two days a week were enforced after a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus in a CRPF convoy, killing 40 jawans on February 14.
KV News
