5,500 fruit-laden trucks cross NH, Mughal road

The restoration work of the 270-km NH was sped up after chief minister Omar Abdullah and Union minister Nitin Gadkari held a meeting on September 16 for the its immediate opening, which had mostly remained closed for heavy traffic for the previous three-four weeks as a portion of highway was damaged due to rain-induced massive landslide in Udhampur

Over 5,500 fruit-laden trucks have crossed the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and Mughal road for the past two days, thus easing the crisis of thousands of valley’s farmers many of whose fruits spoiled in the trucks as they were stranded on the national highway for the past few weeks owing to its closure due to continuous rains and landslides.

Kashmir divisional commissioner Anshul Garg said that the highway restoration was being done on war footing and the road has been restored to a major extent. (File)

The restoration work of the 270-km NH was sped up after chief minister Omar Abdullah and Union minister Nitin Gadkari held a meeting on September 16 for the its immediate opening, which had mostly remained closed for heavy traffic for the previous three-four weeks as a portion of highway was damaged due to rain-induced massive landslide in Udhampur.

Kashmir divisional commissioner Anshul Garg said that the highway restoration was being done on war footing and the road has been restored to a major extent. “For the last four days, there has been continuous movement on the highway. Most of our fruits laden trucks, around 5,500 in number, have been sent through Jammu-Srinagar NH and Mughal road in the past two days,” Garg said.

Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday had said that over a dozen excavators and 50 earthmovers are deployed round the clock for clearing and repairs of the NH.

Farmers said that the fruit season is on peak and everyday 1,500 to 2,000 trucks are normally dispatched to various states of the country. Hundreds of farmers faced loses as fruit boxes rot on the highway as trucks remained stranded for weeks. The highway closure also caused a moderate shortage of fuel especially petrol in the valley.

Garg said that the upward (into the valley) movement of all the essential commodities like petrol, fuel, LPG and other essential commodities has been continuing now. “Today , the movement has started from 8 am from both NH and Mughal road,” he said.

Mughal road is long and treacherous which connects south Kashmir’s Shopian with Pir Panjal region of Jammu division.

On Thursday, the government had said that the divisional administration successfully facilitated the evacuation of 2,239 trucks via the NH and 2,634 via the Mughal Road.

A government spokesperson said that the administration has mobilised all available resources to expedite the transportation of horticultural produce. “Besides, the administration has also undertaken necessary measures to facilitate Valley bound trucks carrying essential commodities viz LPG, Petrol, Diesel, fresh fruits & vegetables and life saving drugs to replenish the stocks and cater to the local demand,” the spokesperson said.