SRINAGAR: After heavy rains and inclement weather in the Jammu Division, Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, today took stock of the condition of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway for smooth movement of traffic on the highway.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, PWD; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir/Jammu; IG Traffic; concerned Deputy Commissioners; SP Traffic, National Highway and RO, NHAI besides other concerned officers.
The Chief Secretary urged upon the officers to ensure the smooth movement of traffic on the highway. He enquired from them about the status of the implementation of previous directions issued regarding disallowing overloaded vehicles to ply on this road.
Dr Mehta took cognizance of the issues including improving the gradient of the road at many places between Ramban and Banihal, removal of muck, widening the carriageway at identified spots, designating the truck holding areas, and completing the 2nd tube of Ramban flyover and progress on Banihal bypass.
He underscored the need of taking strict action against the chronically slow-moving vehicles. He asked them to put a check on the overloading in trucks and make sure that no such vehicle is allowed to move ahead thereby creating hiccups for others. He also directed ensuring that there is no compromise on lane discipline and roadside parking of vehicles by traffic authorities.
The Chief Secretary emphasized on the fact that only 60 km of the road is two lanes out of more than 300 km and therefore should not become a major bottleneck for the smooth management of traffic. He also asked for the management of traffic in Banihal Market and strict implementation of lane discipline there.
Dr Mehta also enquired about the condition of the road from each Deputy Commissioner. He impressed upon them that the weather vagaries should not let the road get closed except for a few hours till it is cleared and should be thrown open for traffic expeditiously. He stressed on the executing agencies to hand over the 2nd tube of the Ramban flyover by the 15th of August and the Banihal bypass by the end of this year as committed earlier.
The Chief Secretary was assured by the traffic and NHAI that after the implementation of all these instructions the traffic on the road would largely be smooth and congestion free. They further assured him that the men and machinery has been kept ready at all the critical stretches of the highway so that there is no undue traffic halt.
The Chief Secretary took this occasion to impress upon the Divisional Administration to keep a check on the rates of essential commodities. He directed for ensuring their availability as well in the market. He told them to ensure that each shop displays the rate list of commodities so that anybody resorting to overcharging is dealt with as per the law.
