Jammu-Srinagar Highway To Remain Shut For 4 Hours Daily Till Sept 27 For Undertaking Repairs

JAMMU — The Jammu-Srinagar national highway will remain closed for traffic for four hours daily till September 27 to undertake repairs in various landslides prone areas, officials said.

Traffic would be halted from 3 am to 7 am during the repair work, according to the direction issued by Chief Secretary A K Mehta.

To carry out urgent repairs on shooting stone prone NH-44 stretches by NHAI, including Cafeteria Morh-Mehad, the chief secretary called for a four-hour halt of traffic for a period of five days from Friday, they said.

Mehta asked officers to ensure smooth movement of fruit-laden trucks on the highway.

He also asked officers to complete the double laning of stretches between Banihal and Ramban and its subsequent black topping within a period of 10 days.

The chief secretary underlined the need for creating minimum obstacles for the movement of traffic during the five days and asked officials to halt traffic only during the night when traffic is lean and minimum.

He asked officials to look for different scientific methods like use of GPS technology and others for better management of traffic and procure road safety gear.

The meeting was informed that the procurement of 213 bikes (one for each police station), 110 Royal Enfield bikes, 23 cranes, 20 mobile vehicle interceptors, 16 highway patrolling vehicles has been completed and their retrofitting is going on for their customised use.

It was also stated that an amount of Rs 152 lakh is being spent on acquiring of other traffic equipment, they said. — (PTI)