Gadkari to Chair High-Level Meeting on Srinagar-Jammu Highway Bottlenecks
Union Minister to discuss traffic, maintenance, and infrastructure issues with J&K leaders and central agencies
Srinagar, Sep 15: Amid mounting concerns over the deteriorating condition of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, is likely to chair a high-level meeting on Tuesday afternoon to address critical bottlenecks and maintenance issues.
Sources said the meeting will be attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his cabinet colleagues, senior bureaucrats, and officials from various central agencies in Jammu and Kashmir will join the discussions via videoconference.
On Monday, CM Abdullah personally spoke to Gadkari, urging urgent intervention to improve the highway, which has come under heavy criticism from fruit growers and opposition parties, including the PCC and PDP, for hampering the movement of fruit-laden trucks to national markets.
The NHAI has also faced scrutiny for failing to widen and level a 300-metre stretch at Tahard in Udhampur district, where the existing highway was buried under debris. Officials said the poor condition of this stretch continues to disrupt traffic flow and poses significant challenges to smooth transportation along the crucial national highway.
The upcoming meeting is expected to focus on long-term solutions for maintenance, traffic management, and timely widening of critical stretches to ensure uninterrupted connectivity between Srinagar and Jammu.
