Sgr-Jmu highway: 223 days of closure in five years

With the development remaining the war cry for the incumbent administration in Jammu and Kashmir, the situation of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway is showing a contrary picture on the ground as the reports have mentioned that the road has remained closed for an alarming 223 days over the past 5 years due to frequent landslides, snow, and other obstructions. The reports suggest that in 2023 alone, the vital road link remained shut for 1458 hours, accumulating to a massive 61 days of closure. Year 2022, witnessed 989 hours (approximately 41 days) of road blockage while in 2021, it remained closed for 549 hours, translating to around 23 days of disruption. In 2020, the road was blocked for a whopping 1138 hours, nearly 47 days, while in 2019, the closure lasted for 1297 hours, equating to 54 days. From the last three years, the situation is turning worse along the route as from nearly 23 days of closure, it has gone up to 61 days, thus simultaneously leaving the people to lurch at large. To overcome the situation, the government has started the process of widening the road for which the work is already going on. The four-laning of the highway is expected to be completed by August 2025. In order to put an end to the sufferings of people, the government should speed up the work on the project. Keeping in view the public sufferings, the concerned executing agency should be directed to pace up the work for the wellbeing of the commuters.