Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Sep 15:
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the central government should hand over control of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway to the elected government if it is unable to reopen the strategic road, as prolonged closure has increased the sufferings of people.
“Truck drivers are quite worried as the highway is closed. And trader groups are suffering,” Omar told reporters in Srinagar. “If the highway had been under me, then I would have opened it by now. This highway is under the Government of India. If they cannot manage it, then hand it over to us.”
The 250-kilometre highway, the Valley’s strategic road link with the rest of the country, has faced repeated closures due to landslides and poor maintenance, crippling the movement of fruit consignments and essential supplies. Omar said the situation has sparked protests and calls for his resignation from some trade bodies in the region. The highway has been shut since last month, leading to the stranding of hundreds of trucks laden with goods and essential supplies. This has resulted in scarcity of petrol supply and other essential supplies.
Abdullah said his government had exercised patience but warned that the situation could no longer continue. “Here in this room engineers are sitting. I will send one of their teams and deploy them there. For us, now enough has happened. Because daily they used to say to us,
Hand over Srinagar-Jammu
“Today it will happen, today it will happen, today it will happen. But it is not happening,” Omar said.The chief minister said he would speak with Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to press for the road to be immediately restored and reopened for truck movement. He also urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to convert the newly inaugurated freight train service into a regular operation to ease pressure on road transport.
“Right now this one train, today its ceremonial flag-off happened. We are thankful,” Omar said. “But keep running it again and again until the highway is fully stabilised.”
Abdullah also welcomed the Supreme Court’s observations on the Waqf Bill and urged the LG Manoj Sinha-led J&K administration to withdraw a Public Safety Act (PSA) case that a court had questioned. He said the PSA detention appeared excessive, adding, “Quietly, in a silent way, the administration should accept its mistake and let him go.”
On the Waqf Bill, he said it unfairly targeted institutions of only one community. “It is a good thing that the Supreme Court has also understood this,” Omar said.
