Srinagar, May 13:
Advisor to Governor, K Vijay Kumar today said that the Mughal Road should be fully utilized as an alternate road which links Jammu region with Kashmir valley and wayside amenities also needs to be created on Mughal Road for the convenience of the commuters travelling on this historical road. He also stressed for promoting Eco-Tourism activities to attract the tourists to visit this beautiful place. The Advisor made these remarks while chairing a meeting with the officers of Forest department and Mughal Road Authorities. The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary Forests Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, PCCF J&K Suresh Chugh, Chief Wildlife Warden Suresh Gupta, Chief Engineer Mughal Road Project Mohammad Ashraf Bhat and other concerned officers. While discussing the need of promoting this beautiful area having great potential of Eco-Tourism activities, the Advisor asked the Forest department in collaboration with Tourism department to come up with a workable action plan at the earliest. The Advisor also stressed for developing wayside amenities on Mughal Road including separate toilets (Bio-degradable) for male and female commuters and refreshment points along the Mughal Road especially at Peer Ki Gali. He asked for creating temporary structures which should be wind proof and would sustain in the prevailing weather conditions. K Vijay Kumar further asked to send a team of senior officers from Forest, Tourism departments, Mughal Road Project and other concerned departments to conduct a visit to Mughal Road and discuss all the important issues in this regard at the spot. Various other important issues relating to development of the Mughal Road as a regular alternate road connecting both the regions were also discussed in detail. Keeping in view the regular incidents of landslides resulting blockage of National Highway, the historical Mughal Road must be utilized properly but that needs coordination from all the involved departments, the Advisor said. He said that after the visit of the team of senior officers to the area, all related works should be start immediately and completed in a time bound manner. Pertinently, the Advisor along with DC Shopian, Chief Engineer Mughal Road Project and other senior officers on Sunday visited Mughal Road upto Peer Ki Gali to personally see the condition of road after being thrown open for traffic by the Mughal Road Authorities.
