Umaisar Gull Ganie
Ramban, Jan 2: More than 340 people lost their lives in about 2,300 road accidents on the Srinagar- Jammu National Highway over the past two years, officials said on Friday.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic, National Highway, Raja Adil Hamid Ganaie said, “As many as 1,056 road accidents were reported on the highway in 2025, claiming 170 lives. In comparison, 1,300 accidents occurred in 2024, resulting in 173 fatalities.”
Sharing the enforcement data for 2025, the SSP said that a total of 88,700 challans were issued during the year, imposing fines amounting to Rs 10.61 crore, of which around Rs 3 crore was realised.
He said 497 vehicles without valid documents were seized, while five FIRs were registered against habitual traffic violators.
He said that special enforcement drives were conducted throughout the year to curb traffic violations. “As many as 153 special drives were carried out across the highway jurisdiction, focusing mainly on visible offences such as the use of pressure horns, overloading and non-use of seat belts,” he said.
Referring to the challenges faced by the Traffic Police in the year 2025, the SSP said, “The year proved to be challenging for traffic management on the highway, especially as heavy monsoon rains caused extensive damage at multiple locations, including Ramban and Udhampur.”
During that period, he said, the priority of the Traffic Police was regulation rather than enforcement, with all available manpower deployed to ensure smooth movement and safety of commuters. “Once the situation improved, traffic police teams resumed enforcement with renewed vigour,” he said.
The SSP said public cooperation with Traffic Police has improved and stressed that strict adherence to rules by commuters would further enhance safety on the highway.
He also said that the 25-kilometre stretch between Ramban and Banihal is currently single-lane due to ongoing work, adding that occasional damage caused by shooting stones hampers progress but work continues.
Appealing to commuters, the SSP urged them to follow traffic advisories before undertaking their journey on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway. (KNO)
