Imran Bonyaari
Notwithstanding the ongoing lockdown which has mostly restricted the movement of vehicles to essential commodities only, the 40-km national highway from Baramulla District to Border town Uri has become a nightmare for commuters due to the pathetic condition of the road linking Uri with the rest of Jammu kashmir.
The people living along the strategic highway, especially in the Uranbuwa area, are dealing with a lot of hardships due to the worsening condition at the national highway. Not only the national highways but some link roads of Sub division Uri connecting it to villages are also in a deplorable condition.
“You can see drivers of all types of vehicles, both light and heavy, moving out of their lanes to avoid the massive potholes dotting the highway right from Nowshera to Mohura, a distance of almost 20-kms, thus increasing the chances of accidents on the road,” Shabir Ahmad, a frequent commuter between the twin capitals, told The Kashmiriyat.
Ahmad told that he was expecting a smooth ride given the lockdown and restricted movement of vehicles but had the “worst experience” of travelling on the road from Baramulla to Uri last week.
The road linking Pakistan via Srinagar-Muzzafarabad Highway has a great historical significance. The movements of hundreds of Heavy Motor was witnessed during India-Pakistan trade. Tourists from all over the world used to visit historic “Kaman Post” which can be visited via this road.
Ayaz Ahmad, a sumo driver, said it is pathetic that the government is not paying any heed to the worsening condition of the road. “At least, please fill-up the potholes which are causing damage to our vehicles,” he pleaded.
“Our life has become miserable ever since the work on the highway project started. We have always requested the concerned department to carry out the macdamisation work at Uranbua but the department is in deep sleep” said Sayeed Mughal, a village head of Uranbua village, where the macdamisation work has not been done.
“Sprinkling water on the road by the executing agencies is just a cosmetic exercise to silence the local residents who are at the risk of health issues due to excessive inhalation of dust which is emitted from the work sites,” he told The Kashmiriyat.
“We the inhabitants, shopkeepers of Chandanwari and Alawari invite attention of Higher Authorities for the redressel of our grievances regarding the pathetic condition of National Highway at k.m 83 nd 84 of Sgr-Uri NH1A. We have also sent a representation to the Governor of J&K,” added Ghulam Qadir, a resident of Chandanwari area of Sub division Uri namely Ghulam Qadir.
Another local hailing from the Boniyar Tehsil of Baramulla district, Ghulam Nabi Sheikh told The Kashmiriyat “It’s sad to say that our NHA1 from Uri to Baramulla is in dilapidated condition at various spots, no drainage system or culverts are being maintained no macdamisation is done at stretches from Rampour to Chandanwari and from Boniyar to Challan, same is the condition of road at Mohora to Chandanwari and upto Rajarwani.”
“We request our NHA1 repairing authorities and government to push BECON agency to immediately widen the road, remove the curves, make drains and Culverts for the road and macdamise it so that the people driving the vehicles and the ambulances running in turmoil may not face difficulties,” he added. The road usually gets damaged during winters owing to landslides triggered by snowfall and heavy rains.
When The Kashmiriyat contacted one of the Beacon official, who wished not to be named, he told us, “The process of filling up of potholes on the national highway will start shortly, however, the construction work on two lane will be constituted soon after the land will be evacuated by the encroachers. The department has time and again requested civil administration to vocate land from illegal land encroachers however we didn’t get the response. We will start the work on two-lane on NHA1 from September-October 2021.”