The Legitimate Desk
When the world is starting to settle down on Mars and exploring the probabilities of life at other planets of the world, the Kashmir valley is still bereft of its surface connectivity with the rest of country. In the winters, the valley mostly remains cut off as its only surface link Srinagar-Jammu highway reels under potential threats of rock and landslides. Every year scores of precious lives are lost to the horror of this treacherous highway.
With mild to heavy snow or rainfall on the highway it shuts for many days and hundreds of people travelling on it remain stranded. The ordeal the stranded passengers go through is beyond horror. The commoners who are economically poor, faces the worst of it. The rates of eatables and hotels are skyrocketing immediately after the highway closes.
A commoner is unable to afford while people who could afford are forced to shell off huge sums for basic things. This is not enough infact the most concerning thing that is overlooked the loss of precious lives. Back in the valley, it is equally or more concerning situation. A few days closure of highway is resulting into the huge crisis of essential commodities.
The shortage of drugs, essentials and other commodities is triggering a war like situation. Literally valley is predominantly a consumer market and has its own stocks limited and insufficient to meet the local requirements. It is potentially depending on the exports from the neighbouring states like Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. The rail link is also not available to substitute the road link in trying times.
This situation continues to hamper the socio economic growth of the valley despite lots of efforts being put up by the successive governments in boosting local economy. The ongoing snail’s pace of work on the four lane highway as part of New Delhi’s ambitious North-South corridor project needs to be accelerated. Most of the portions have already been completed while at some places especially between Ramban and Banihal, the treacherous portion is yet to see the light of day.
Kashmir is also having a strategic importance as it shares its borders with Pakistan. And the Leh region where the country is sharing its borders with China has its passage also through the valley. In the larger interests of the country and to ensure the real economic boost to the valley it is of paramount importance to accelerate the work on undergoing projects of socio economic importance especially the rail and road link. This could in long way percolate the agenda of peace and prosperity in strife torn valley.
The poor socio economic condition in valley which is geographically a highly disturbed place is pushing the people to the wall. On the other hand the projects worth hundreds of crores sponsored by state and central government to motivate the youths to set up their own ventures may also yield the positive results if the road link is completed.
All those efforts invested by the successive regimes may not have any positive outcome unless the basic requirements are provided. This is high time for New Delhi to concentrate on the two main projects of rail and road link and ensure they are completed as soon as possible.
