Minister for Transport Abdul Gani Kohli today visited Gadibal Achhimarg area near Sonamarg of Ganderbal district to take stock of the situation that has arisen due to cloudburst yesterday. The Minister personally joined the rescue and clearance operation to clear the road. The Minister asked the line agencies to make coordinated efforts in clearing the road. He said that the road should be clear as early as possible so that Yatries could not face any inconvenience due to blockage of road. He said timely and early clearance of road would also help the passengers and tourists visiting the Ladakh, saying that adequate arrangement, by deploying additional buses, would be made as soon as the road cleared for their convenience.
The Minister also called upon the hoteliers and other associations related with tourism industry to help the stranded Yatris and passengers by giving them concessions.
Interacting with the stranded Yatris and passengers, Mr. Kohli assured that the government would make every possible arrangement for darshan and their easy stay. He also visited Thajwas area, where the nomads are living, took stock of their problems being faced by them. Responding to their demands, the Minister said that their genuine demands would be looked into and addressed in phased manner.Later, the Minister inspected weigh bridge Sonamarg and took stock of the functioning of the unit. The RTO, Kashmir Mehmood Ahmad Shah informed the Minister that Rs. 21 lakh has been realized as fine for overloading of vehicles. He informed that Rs. 24 lakh was realized as fine for overloading last year. He informed that efforts are afoot for the safety and security of the passengers and goods. The Minister also interacted with the truck drivers at Sonamarg, urging them to cooperate with the Department and the Government in implementation and execution of rules of the roads. He said that this would help in saving the precious lives and conditions of both the road and their vehicles.