Repair, renovate highway

The annual Amarnath Yatra has surpassed the previous figures as in the first ten days, the number of pilgrims, who have visited the holy cave shrine to perform the darshan has crossed one lakh mark, creating an example of the togetherness and the efforts being made by one and all including the government, NGOs as well as the local masses in ensuring the successful completion of the yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the situation of Srinagar-Jammu national highway has disappointed the masses, especially the yatries, who have been forced not to ply from Jammu towards Srinagar in wake of the deteriorating situation of the road due to the inclement weather conditions for the last few days in the Union Territory. Despite taking adequate measures and throwing the tunnel open for the public, the situation has not changed for the people, who are scheduled to travel from Jammu to Srinagar or vice versa as the highway continued to remain closed for the traffic on the third straight day on Monday and will continue to remain closed on Tuesday. However, a traffic advisory has been issued, which states that the highway shall reopen for traffic on Wednesday only, which would put brakes on the ongoing annual yatra, where the figure has crossed one lakh mark in the first ten days despite remaining suspended for two straight days in wake of inclement weather conditions. The government should take note of the frequent closure of highway and must come up with a proper solution so that the highway remains open for the general public round the clock.