Srinagar, 15 June: On Thursday, Mehbooba Mufti, president of the People’s Democratic Party, requested Nitin Gadkari, federal minister of road transport and highway, to build the Mughal road tunnel.
In a tweet, Mufti said that she has written to Nitin Gadkari to begin building the Mughal road tunnel, as he had promised when they met in 2017 while he was Chief Minister. “The Mughal road can emerge as a vital all weather road link connecting the Valley with Pir Panchal in Jammu,” she added.
In the letter, she reminded Gadkari that, as Chief Minister, she had asked him to begin work on the Rajdhani, Sadhna, and Mughal road tunnels.
The Mughal Road, as you know, is the sole connection between the valley and the Pir Panchal area of Jammu. Kashmir is essentially shut off from the rest of the country since the one national route leading there is often blocked due to bad weather and landslides. During your time as Minister of Roads, Transports, and Highways, there has been a dramatic improvement in road infrastructure and connectivity over the last five years. The roads in J&K haven’t altered much in recent years. Therefore, she continued, “people continue to suffer enormous losses on the economic front and on a personal front.
According to the letter, horticulture is the lifeblood of the local economy. Tones of fruit spoiled last year because of road closures, as I’m sure you know. The farming community and transportation sector were both severely impacted. Kashmir is strategically located, although it has no roads or train connections due to its isolation. The ordinary people have no alternative except to go through roads since air travel is so prohibitively expensive. “You can well imagine the inconvenience caused every time J&K’s only national highway is closed, given the current situation,” she remarked. She emphasised that a tunnel under the Mughal road would serve as both an alternate route and an all-weather connection, improving communication and trade between communities. During our 2017 meeting, I recall your enthusiastic reaction. I’m writing to you now in the sincere hope that you’ll give this issue your full attention and take the necessary measures to get this initiative off the ground without any additional delay.
