JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, held a meeting to review the progress of the development of various roads and highways connecting different parts of the UT.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, PWD; PCCF; Commissioner Secretary, Forests; Commissioner Secretary, Revenue; Secretary PD&MD; Secretary, Transport; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; DG Budget; RO NHAI, DCs of Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, and Samba.
Outstation-based officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
Dr Mehta impressed upon the officers to complete the Semi-Ring Road for Jammu up to March next year and explore the possibility of a Ring-Road around the city for the easement of commuters. He asked them to prepare a DPR for the same.
The Chief Secretary also stressed on the officers to prepare a DPR for Kathua-Bani-Sarthal-Bhadarwah-Doda Road without any delay. He told them that it is of great significance with respect to giving a boost to tourism in these areas. He directed for connecting it with both Jammu-Srinagar Highway and Sinthan-Kishtwar Road for its maximum utility.
He told them that the condition of Sinthan-Kishtwar and Sonamarg Road should be maintained constantly. He called for keeping ready the men and machinery for snow clearance of these roads for their least blocking during winters.
He also made out that the Delhi-Katra Expressway corridor to have an interchange with the Srinagar-Jammu Highway so that people traveling on this Expressway could come out to this highway for proceeding towards Srinagar. He called for expediting the work on Jaiswal Bridge for lessening the travel time on the highway.
Dr Mehta asked the authorities to improve the overall road surface of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway so that travel time is reduced to a maximum of 8 hours. He told them to give daily reports about the trucks laid off on the Highway and the time for which these are made to halt there. He told them to declare the stretches of Jawahar Tunnel and Patnitop as part of the National Highway so that these are maintained effectively.
Dr Mehta took notice of the repeated delays made by the Executing Agencies in completing the T3 and T5 Tunnels on the National Highway. He urged them to complete both without any further delay as these would be pivotal in making the travel easy on this road. He asked them to look into the possibility of connecting the tourist destinations of Budgam-Yousmarg-Doodhpathri-Tosamaidan-Gulmarg so that all these locations are visited as a package together.
Chief Secretary Mehta directed to facilitate smooth traffic flow on the Ramban- Banihal stretch of the National Highway, the traffic police and district administration were directed to properly demarcate single-lane driving zones and ensure lane-driving and traffic discipline among the commuters.
The Chief Secretary further directed the District Administration, Ramban to reduce the response time for clearing up traffic snarl-ups on the highway caused by vehicles breakdown or accidents by deploying an adequate number of cranes on the Ramban-Banihal stretch, particularly on the under-construction stretches.
The Chief Secretary also instructed the Divisional and District administration in Jammu to give a facelift to the entry point at Lakhanpur so that the sight is appealing. He asked them to take immediate steps for starting work on the project so that it is completed forthwith.
