No shooting stones, no jams on Jammu and Kashmir highway as road gets new tunnel

Known for its unpredictability due to the sudden shooting of stones from the hillock overlooking the strategic JammuSrinagar national highway the most vulnerable stretch of Panthyal in Ramban district is set to get bypassed with the inauguration of the T5 tunnel next weekThe work on the twintube 880metre tunnel part of the highway realignment project started in 2020 and is expected to be completed within the next five days It will put an end to the threat of shooting stones which have consumed numerous human livesOver the past couple of years a temporary iron and steel tunnel at the crucial stretch provided some relief to the people travelling on the highway But the rolling stones continued to cause frequent disruptions in the smooth movement of trafficPanthyal has remained a critical stretch for decades This treacherous stretch will be bypassed with the inauguration of T5 tunnel which is more or less in the completion stage Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam told PTIIslam who is monitoring the project and regularly updates the progress on social media said the opening of the T5 tunnel would end the fear of shooting stones forever along with frequent traffic jams on the stretchIn a tweet recently he said the opening of the T5 tunnel will lay the ghost of Panthyal to rest forever In another tweet he shared the photographs of Pavement Quality Concrete PQC work for topwearing layers being laid in T5The fourlane project of the 270km highway the only allweather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country started in 2011 The work which included a number of small and major tunnels bridges and flyovers is likely to be completed by next year after missing several deadlines over the past decadeWe have the most critical stretch of 66 km passing through the district Ramban from Nashri tunnel to Banihal tunnel The National Highway Authority of India is working on the project We have got three tunnels in the past year and several other small tunnels and bridges are nearing completion which will bypass other critical spots on the road the deputy commissioner saidAlso readJammu and Kashmir police chief asks officers to rigorously act against OGWs militant support networkHe expressed hope that the travel through Ramban district will become very comfortable by July endThe Ramban flyover which will bypass Ramban market is expected to be thrown open by April 15 Jaishwal bridge near Karole by March 31 and 873metre Kunfer tunnel between Peeda and Chanderkote next month as well he saidThe officer said the JammuSrinagar national highway also known as NH44 is the only highway where a fourlane project is under progress without stopping vehicular movementOn an average over 10000 to 11000 vehicles ply on the highway on a daily basis between Srinagar and Jammu It is a lifeline and the only allweather road so the challenges being faced by the executing agencies are much more than anywhere elseiquest he saidHe said supplies to Kashmir including perishable items are carried via this roadThe administration is giving full support to NHAI for the completion of the project in a timebound manner and to ensure smooth flow of the traffic he saidVarinder Singh an official working with CPPL construction company which is working on the T5 tunnel said over 200 workers have been engaged to complete the tunnel on a fasttrack basisThe engineers supervisors and labourers are all working together in shifts roundtheclock to ensure the opening of the tunnel he saidSocial activist Iftiyaz Ahmad said the opening of the tunnel will be a major breakthrough as many lives have been lost due to the shooting of stones in PanthyalWe request the central government to sanction some more tunnels in the slideprone areas to make the road safer he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever