JAMMU: Amidst lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir, a 24X7 control room at Lakhanpur is working overtime to ensure that all essential supplies reach to every part of the Union Territory and no shortage of any item is felt by people.
The control room established on 29 March by the administration at Lakhanpur has been acting as a saviour for the entire population of Jammu and Kashmir by facilitating smooth movement of Ambulances carrying patients and trucks carrying essential commodities so that there is no dearth of daily use consumable items in J&K.
Trucks loaded with essential items viz. fruits, vegetables, dry fruit, LPG, Petroleum products, Cattle feed, Food grains, Eggs, Milk, Poultry/Sheep, fertilisers, medicine and other essentials coming from outside the UT, make their way through the gateway at Lakhanpur in Kathua district and then deliver these essential items to different parts of Jammu & Kashmir.
Since the inter-state border of J&K with its neighbouring states is sealed due to the lockdown, the only permitted way for traffic movement is through Lakhanpur. The control room works at a fast pace and ensures that the waiting time of goods carrying vehicles is minimised and these trucks get cleared within 15 mins of their reporting.
Furthermore, the control room can be contacted for any issues related to the movement of trucks stuck anywhere including the neighbouring state of Punjab. The control room can be contacted on phone numbers: 01922-285329, 01922-285330 and email controlroomlakhanpur@gmail.com.
The hassle-free movement of trucks is done keeping in view all the formalities and protocols laid down to fight the spread of COVID-19. Every driver and cleaner or helper of every vehicle is screened before their entry into Jammu and Kashmir. Sufficient number of Medical Screening Units and Facilitation Counters have been set up for this purpose at Lakhanpur. These units are manned by officers of various Civil departments, Police, Health etc. The trucks are also examined by a team of Kathua District Police keeping in view the overall security aspect and are also sanitised before leaving Lakhanpur.
The officers who have been deployed at Lakhanpur include Arun Manhas and Arvind Karwani, whose contact numbers have also been circulated far and wide in and outside UT. The officers are entrusted to supervise the control room round the clock.
According to the officers, to and fro movement of trucks is allowed in the UT, which means that after unloading their goods at their destination, they can reload their truck from that particular place for their backward journey.
For ambulances carrying patients or any patient with his own vehicle, there is a set SOP in which a driver, an attendant and the patient is only allowed to visit GMC Kathua with a condition that the driver will come back after leaving them at the Hospital.
The officials further informed that more than 11000 trucks loaded with essential commodities have crossed Lakhanpur to different parts of J&K from 25 March till date and 225 Ambulances/ Patient vehicles coming from outside have been dispatched to GMC Kathua for medication.
