Minister for Public Works Naeem Akhtar today laid thrust on early completion of road clearance operations for restoration of traffic on all snowbound and landslide hit roads in the state.The Minister directed the Public Works department to employ all necessary resources, men and machinery, round-the-clock to clear the roads and open them for traffic movement.The Minister was reviewing the status of road clearance operations of Mughal Road, Batote-Kishtwar and internal roads of Doda, Kishtwar region at a meeting of senior PWD functionaries in his office chambers, here today.The Minister said that road connectivity is the lifeline for state economy especially the far off, rural areas and every necessary resource will be deployed to make these roads safe for traffic.The Minister was informed by Chief Engineer R&B Jammu, Mr Alok Mengi that he has recently conducted an extensive tour of Batote-Doda area to evaluate the on-ground situation of the road.
The CE informed the Minister the recent slip near Thathri that resulted in traffic suspension on Doda-Kishtwar route for 4 days, has been cleared and traffic movement has been restored on this vital road.Regarding the Mughal road, the Minister was informed that due to weather situation in last couple of weeks, there have been regular occurrences of slips and slides along the route. Extensive clearance operations are underway on both ends and the road is expected to be ready for traffic movement by April 15, subject to fair weather conditions.It was further informed that 22 km stretch from Shopian end and 18 km stretch from Rajouri end have been cleared. The work on remaining 43 kms is being executed at full pace under direct supervision of Chief Engineer Mechanical and Chief Engineer Mughal road who will be camping at these sites.The meeting was informed that that the snow accumulation at some stretches on the Mughal Road is around 10 to 12 feet and men and machinery are working round the clock to get the road cleared.It was also informed in the meeting that Preliminary Project Report (PPR) for Mughal Road is ready and will be soon submitted to central government for funding.