Srinagar, Apr 16: Students belonging to the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch studying in different educational institutions in the valley on Sunday demanded the reopening of the Mughal Road for vehicular traffic as snow accumulation work has been completed.
Shahid Ayoub, a research scholar told Rising Kashmir that the Mughal Road should be reopened for traffic so that the students of Rajouri and Poonch would be able to reach home within a short period of time.
He said that due to the closure of the Mughal Road, the people of Pir Panjal, particularly patients, students and employees are facing immense problems, and the administration should reopen it on Eid-ul-Fitr.
Another student, Riyaz Ahmad Khatana, said that despite tall claims of development, things have remained unchanged on the ground. Mughal Road is being kept closed for common people which is causing huge problems, he said and appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha-led administration to reopen Mughal Road for the general public.
Assistant Engineer, Mechanical Engineering Department, Tariq Mehmood Khan said the road was cleared of accumulated snow about two weeks ago but a fresh spell of snowfall delayed its opening.
“Our men and machinery are on the job and we are expecting to complete the snow clearance operation by next week,” he said.
Apni Party leader and former minister Choudhary Zulfkar Ali demanded the immediate opening of the Mughal Road and said it was unfortunate that the concerned authorities who were responsible to keep the historic alternative road to Kashmir operational have failed to do so.
In a tweet, Ali said the Mughal Road was supposed to open in the first week of March but is still closed, causing inconvenience to the people as hundreds of them travel from one region to another on a daily basis for varied reasons including health checkups, employment, education and trade.
He said the road passes through breathtaking scenery, having a huge potential for tourism and economic growth.
On April 10, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced that his Ministry has taken up projects worth Rs 1,25,000 crores in Jammu & Kashmir.
Gadkari said that around 500 km of the road network has been completed in the region since 2014, and about 1700 km of roads are under construction at a cost of Rs 75,000 crores. He announced the tunnels and two lanes for the Mughal Road which will make the roads commute-friendly through all weather conditions.
“Whenever chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir would meet me, they would insist that the Mughal Road should be made an all-weather road. I am announcing today that the historical Mughal Road that links Poonch district of Jammu with Kashmir Valley will be made a two-lane and all-weather road,” the minister said.
