Connecting Kashmir : Jammu-Srinagar highway on the way to becoming express highway

Srinagar, Oct 16

The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH) is all set to become an express highway as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working round the clock to turn this important thoroughfare into an all-weather road.

From 1947 to 2019, former rulers played politics over this all-important highway, which connects Kashmir with the rest of the country. Instead of developing it, they kept on talking about opening alternative routes. They misled people by stating that Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Road would be reopened and Kashmir would get connected to Pakistan.

In 2005, India and Pakistan started cross LOC bus services. In 2008, the cross-LoC (Line of Control) trade was also introduced for the first time since 1947. Both, the bus service and the trade, were called off in 2019.

The Government of India ended the cross-LoC trade between PoK and J&K due to the misuse of the route by terrorists and their handlers. The misuse included the smuggling of illegal weapons, narcotics and currency.

By calling off the cross-LoC trade and the bus service, the regime led by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, sent a clear message that Pakistan won't be allowed to promote terror under the garb of trade, and it drove home a point that the experiment of trying to connect J&K with PoK had failed.

* Prime Minister's Rs 80,000 crore package

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during his visit to Kashmir in 2015, announced an Rs 80,000 crore package for building 'Naya Jammu and Kashmir'.

The package included money for constructing new roads and highways. However, the then regime led by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in J&K didn't pay much attention towards spending the money on the projects which it was meant for.

The work on turning Srinagar-Jammu NH into an express highway was carried on at a snail's pace, which led to the frequent closure of the road. It provided the leaders of the political parties, including PDP and National Conference, with a chance to mislead the people that the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway was more dependable than the Srinagar-Jammu NH. These leaders in a way endorsed the narrative of the separatists and sent a message to them that they supported their agenda of separation. The mainstream Kashmiri leaders till 2019 left no opportunity to appease the separatists' and Pakistan.

* Connecting Kashmir

The situation in J&K changed on August 5, 2019 - when the Centre announced its decision to abrogate the state's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories. The government embarked on a mission to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country through road, air and railways.

As on date, nearly 100 flights operate from Srinagar international airport daily, the train to Kashmir is not that far away and the Srinagar-Jammu NH within a year or two would become a four-lane express highway.

* Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Navyug tunnels

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Tunnel is not only India's longest highway tunnel (9 km long) but also Asia's longest bi-directional highway tunnel. It's also known as the Chenani-Nashri tunnel. It has reduced the travel time between Nashri and Chenani from two hours to mere 15 minutes.

Similarly, the 8.5 km long Navyug Tunnel at an elevation of 1,790 m in the Pir Panjal range has reduced the travel time between Qazigund and Banihal to 15 minutes from nearly two hours.

Nandni Tunnels, the series of four highway tunnels on Jammu-Srinagar NH in Udhampur district have cut down the travel time by at least one hour.

The distance between Jammu and Srinagar cities has been reduced from 300 km to 260 km and the journey which used to get covered 10 to 12 hours in 2019, will be covered within 5 to 6 hours in 2022.

The four-lane highway corridors from Srinagar to Qazigund and Jammu to Udhampur have made travel faster and easier on NH-44.

* Chief Secretary monitoring progress

J&K Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta is personally monitoring the progress of the work on Srinagar-Jammu NH.

In a review meeting held earlier in October, Mehta directed the NHAI to follow all deadlines for clearing of muck, improvement of road surface, completion of the vital T-5 tunnel and widening of the Ramsoo-Rampari-Sherbibi stretch on NH-44.

He emphasised on the need to find a one-time solution to the highway woes. Once the T-5 tunnel is completed, it will reduce the travel time between Banihal to Ramban - treacherous mountainous terrain - from three hours to 25 minutes. The T-5 tunnel would bring Jammu and Srinagar close.

* Srinagar comes closer to Jammu

The present dispensation in Jammu and Kashmir led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is keen on ensuring that the travel time between the twin capitals of J&K, that is, Srinagar and Jammu come down to four hours.

The areas which were prone to land and mudslides have been developed and the tunnels that have come up on the highway have made commuting easy and hassle-free for travellers.

The improvement in the condition of Jammu-Srinagar NH has punctured all the fake narratives about this highway being an unnatural route.

The new tunnels and the expansion of the highway are major steps towards "completing the integration of Kashmir with the Union of India".

The NH-44 turning into an express highway has shattered the myth about Srinagar-Muzzafarabad Road being the natural route to Kashmir.

The government has also taken up the work on Mughal Road which connects South Kashmir with the Jammu region. This road too will be developed into an all-weather highway to end Kashmir's status of being a landlocked Valley.

* Former rulers have no answers

Former J&K rulers, who used to claim that the route from Srinagar to PoK would become a permanent thoroughfare, have been left with nothing to sell. People are asking why couldn't they develop the Srinagar-Jammu NH for 70 years. Is it that they delayed the development projects to mislead the people by claiming that J&K could never be developed? Anyway, their time has ended as the people have realised that the leaders whom they reposed their trust in were never interested in J&K's development. The only thing that mattered to them was power.

The highway which troubled the people of Kashmir for seven decades has been developed just in three years. It's a big achievement of Prime Minister Modi-led government and leadership deserves accolades for it.

--IANS