SRINAGAR: The Chief Secretary, Dr.Arun Kumar Mehta today chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress of various road projects in Jammu and Kashmir under execution in the different schemes of UT and Central governments.
It was informed that the Mining department has allottedshort-term permit for extracting the minor minerals to the executing agency to ensure continuous supply of construction material for the Jammu semi-ring road project.
It was further informed that NHAI has constructed crash barriers/parapets at all the critical stretches on Udhampur-Ramban sectionto prevent occurrence of fatal accidents on the National Highway-44.
Dr Mehta directed the installation of such barriers on all critical stretches of Ramban-Banihal section within a week, especially in the areas prone to frequent landslides and slippages.
To facilitate smooth traffic flow on the Ramban- Banihal stretch of the National Highway, the traffic police and district administration were directed to properly demarcate single-lane driving zones and ensure lane-driving and traffic discipline among the commuters.
The Chief Secretary further directed the District Administration, Ramban to reduce response time to 15 minutes for clearing up traffic snarl ups on the highway caused by vehicles breakdown or accidents by deploying adequate number of cranes on Ramban-Banihal stretch, particularly on the ‘under-construction stretches.
Dr. Mehta further directed NHAI to operationalize 8 rest areas ( wash rooms with mini eating joints) by 31st October, 2021 and all 3 vehicle holding areas/parking bays on NH-44 by 30th November, 2021 to provide ease of travel to the commuters on the National Highway.
He also directed the JKTDC to set up similar facilities on national highway for use by the public by 31st October, 2021.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the progress on the Z-Morh tunnel; Srinagar-Shopian-Qazigund road; Srinagar semi-ring road project; Chenani-Sudmahadev-Goha road; Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch road and the upcoming Delhi-Katra expressway and fixed specific timelines for their completion.