In a marathon meeting held on Sunday to take stock of traffic movement on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta instructed concerned traffic authorities to clear the highway of stranded vehicles within 24 hours so that the flow of vehicles normalizes on the critical route of the region.

Additional Chief Secretary, Home; Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir; Secretary, Transport; IG Traffic; concerned Deputy Commissioners and other senior officers from the Traffic Police and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) were present in the meeting.

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The Chief Secretary directed the officers to formulate a viable plan for the smooth movement of traffic on the highway in association with fruit growers. He asked them to ensure that the fruit-laden trucks leaving from the Valley should reach their destinations without undue delay.

Dr. Mehta told them to submit daily reports to his office about the travel time and the number of vehicles reaching Jammu or Srinagar leaving from opposite directions. He enjoined upon them to publish daily the number of vehicles stranded including the place and reasons thereof.

The traffic management authorities were asked to augment manpower from all sources to regulate traffic efficiently. He stressed on enforcing lane discipline on this highway, especially on critical stretches between Banihal and Ramban.

For the seasonal migration, the Tribal Affairs Department and Deputy Commissioners were directed to facilitate ‘Deras’ to move on the highway in trucks along with their family members and livestock. They were asked to make these arrangements for their easement and better traffic management on this vital link between the capital cities.

Further, the NHAI was also directed to follow all timelines given in by the Chief Secretary in his last meeting for the clearance of muck from Cafteria Morh and Mehar. They were asked to improve the overall road surface besides blacktopping the potholed portion between Banihal and Ramban. They were also encouraged to complete the vital T-5 tunnel and widen of Ramsoo-Rampari-Sherbibi stretch of the road for the long-term solution of this recurring problem.