Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti inaugurated the 1.5 Kilometre long Bikram Chowk to Women’s College flyover in the winter capital here today.Built at a cost of Rs. 77.54 crore, the flyover has been constructed by Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) and it would ease the heavy traffic movement in the area particularly towards airport, Gandhi Nagar and other city areas.Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh; Speaker, Legislative Assembly, Kavinder Gupta; Minister for Forests, Choudhary Lal Singh; Member Parliament, Jugal Kishore Sharma; MLA, Rajesh Gupta; senior officers of divisional administration and ERA were present on the occasion.After the inauguration, the Chief Minister drove through the entire stretch of the flyover and inspected the works.Addressing a gathering after the inauguration, Mehbooba Mufti said the need for giving the heavy traffic in the city a vent was earnestly felt and hoped with the oprationalisation of the flyover the problem of traffic congestion would be arrested by a great measure.The Chief Minister described traffic congestion and solid waste management as the two major challenges to civic administration in the State.
She said with the addition of more vehicles on roads, issues of parking, routes and road management are becoming more pressing for civic authorities with each passing year.Mehbooba Mufti advised the concerned Departments to adopt a holistic and futuristic policy for traffic management which would accommodate the needs of coming times as well. She hoped with the proper execution of Rs. 80 thousand Prime Minister’s Development Plan, these issues would completely be addressed in the State.The Chief Minister said with the completion of parking lots in the cities of Jammu and Srinagar the traffic congestion would be arrested by a great measure. She directed proper registration and rehabilitation of the vendors on city roads and providing them alternative spots to clear the pavements and footpaths.Mehbooba Mufti said many other big projects are in the pipeline for completion in the winter capital. She said the city has a good treasure of forts and monuments which have the potential of attracting heritage lovers to the city and added her Government is working towards that.Complimenting the people of Jammu for having maintained communal harmony and brotherhood despite provocations, the Chief Minister said nobody would be allowed to disturb the peaceful atmosphere and mischief mongers would be dealt with sternly.
She said whosoever takes law in own hands would be dealt with appropriately and cautioned people against nefarious designs of some negative elements who want to derail the developmental process in the province by creating an atmosphere of hate.Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh in his address said the commitment and dedication with which the project has been concluded is a reflection of the coalition Government towards the developmental needs of the State. He said the Government is keen to develop all the regions of the State on equal footing.Speaker, Legislative Assembly, Kavinder Gupta complimented the people of Jammu on the completion of the project. He expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for pursing the project with regularity which he said would ease the commuters in the city of day to day traffic hassles.Member Parliament, Jugal Kishore Sharma and MLA, Rajesh Gupta also spoke on the occasion.Several legislators, prominent citizens, officers of divisional administration and a large number of people were present on the occasion.