Srinagar, Jun 19: The determination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to develop “Naya Jammu and Kashmir” has significantly altered the terrain of the Himalayan area.
After Article 370 was repealed, Jammu and Kashmir had a period of peace, prosperity, and growth as a result of the completion of dormant projects, the execution of new projects, and the devotion to the ideals of “Gati” and “Pargati.”
The achievements made in the field of infrastructure development have not only led to an enhancement of the region’s natural surroundings, but they have also disproved erroneous narratives, which has given the residents of the Union Territory the ability to imagine a more positive future for themselves.
Following the announcement on August 5, 2019, that the Central Government would be terminating Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and splitting the state into two Union Territories, the Indian government has made extraordinary efforts to improve the region’s connectivity infrastructure in preparation for the region’s fast economic development.
Over the course of the previous three years, the government has constructed fast motorways and renovated airports. Additionally, a railway connection between Kashmir and the rest of the nation is scheduled to be completed within the next year.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which spans 272 km, has reached the last phase of its construction. After it is finished, Kashmir will have year-round access to the rest of the nation regardless of weather conditions. The completion of the project is anticipated for the following year.
When it is finally finished, the USBRL will represent a remarkable achievement in engineering for India. It will include a total of 38 tunnels, the largest of which will be 12.77 km long. The attractiveness of this rail connection project is enhanced by the fact that it contains both the world’s tallest Chenab Bridge (1,315 m) and the first cable-stayed rail bridge.
The project to expand the strategically important Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) is also getting close to being finished. The whole project was broken up into six distinct segments, of which only four have been finished at this point.
Work is now being done on the last two sections, which are the Banihal-Ramban road (which is 36 kilometres long) and the Ramban-Udhampur route (which is 43 kilometres long).
Between Banihal and Ramban and Udhampur, this section of the National Highway that is four lanes and 79 km long will feature 14 tunnels, one of which was just built lately and is called the Panthyal tunnel. It is anticipated that the construction work on the strategic highway would be finished by the end of 2024.
In addition to this, construction has begun on an additional four-lane Greenfield Motorway that will link Delhi and Katra. This will cut the distance between the two cities by 58 kilometres, which is a significant amount. It is a section of one of the 32 ‘Green Express Highways’ that are now being constructed all throughout the nation.
The construction of this four-lane, 670-kilometer Green Field Motorway from Delhi to Vaishno Devi Dham in Katra is estimated to cost Rs 37,524 crore and is expected to be finished by December 2023.
After 2019, road building in Jammu and Kashmir ramped up the pace significantly. This is relevant information. The amount of time needed to reach important places around J&K has significantly decreased over the last three years.
Officials have said that about 7,000 km’ worth of new road has been constructed over the course of the last three years. More than 170 bridges have been built as part of efforts to improve the transport system, and the length of roads that have been asphalted has increased to more than 8000 km, up from 2500 to 3000 kilometres in the past.
The construction of a reliable road network is now receiving close to one lakh crore in funding, since the development of road and tunnel infrastructure has been designated as a priority.
In the years 2021-22, the state of Jammu and Kashmir established a new record by building 6,450 km worth of road length. As a result, the state moved up to the third position on the list of states with the longest road length.
Up until 2019, six kilometres of new road were built per day; however, that number has climbed to twenty km over the course of the previous several years.
According to the results of the Pradhan Mantri Gramme Sadak Yojana, Jammu & Kashmir comes in fourth place throughout the whole nation.
Notably, the Union Ministry of Rural Development approved 3,347 projects to be carried out as part of the PMGSY-I programme. These projects will be carried out in 12 stages and will include the building of 18,432.79 kilometres of roads at a cost of Rs. 1,19,646.76 crore. These roads would give connectivity to 2,148 habitations.
As part of the PMGSY-II, 107 initiatives totaling 704.55 km and costing 790.49 billion rupees have been approved.
Within the framework of the PMGSY-III, the government has allotted Rs 1,357 crore to J&K for the purpose of constructing 1,276 kilometres of road length.
The PMGSY-III is yet another important step towards improving the connectivity of J&K’s rural areas.
In the years 2023 and 2024, construction of the 78 km (48 miles) of four-lane Srinagar ring road is expected to be finished.
People arriving in Srinagar from Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Gurez, Kargil, and Leh would no longer be required to enter the city as a result of the completion of a ring road that is estimated to cost 4,660 crore rupees. This will result in a decrease in the amount of pollutants as well as congestion in the city.
Along the path to Amarnath, there is now discussion about the possibility of constructing a tunnel that would run between Sheshnag and Panjtarni. The existing yatra would only take nine hours to complete instead of the three days it now takes.
Officials have said that in order to facilitate Amarnath pilgrims, a road that would stretch from Khanabal to Panjtarni and cover a distance of 110 km will be built at a cost of Rs 5,300 crore.
The DPR for a section of road of 73 kilometres from Khanabal to Chandanwari and 37 kilometres from Chandanwari to Baltal through Panjtarni, with a total cost of 3,500 rupees, is now being worked on.
In order to connect Sheshnag and Panjtarni, there will be a tunnel built that is 10.8 km long.
In the meanwhile, plans are in the works to build a tunnel near Pir Ki Gali on Mughal Road. This tunnel would link Poonch in the Jammu area to Shopian in Kashmir. The development of an all-weather road is included as part of the 6,000 crore rupee project, which also includes a tunnel near Pir Ki Gali that costs 5,000 crore rupees.
Another significant accomplishment of the government in Jammu and Kashmir headed by PM Modi has been the completion of stalled projects. The development of this area was hampered by the fact that these initiatives had been halted for a number of years. In light of the significance they hold, the government has made measures to hasten the process of bringing them to a successful conclusion.
The development landscape of the Union Territory was given a new lease of life as a result of the exceptional pace with which these projects were carried out. The completion of these projects contributed to an improvement in the standard of living enjoyed by the inhabitants of J-K. Among other things, new schools, hospitals, and community centres were built, and the region’s ageing infrastructure was modernised.
In addition to finishing projects that are already in progress, the government has also taken the initiative to initiate new projects that are tailored to meet the various requirements of the area.
Putting into practise the slogan of “Gati” (speed) and “Pargati” (progress), the government headed by Prime Minister Modi has shown that it is firmly committed to achieving its goals in a timely and effective manner.
The government has eliminated hurdles that were not essential and fostered the formation of public-private partnerships.
The pace of building new infrastructure in ‘Naya J-K’ has picked up significantly in recent years.
This strategy has not only resulted in a change to the region’s physical landscape, but it has also helped to create an atmosphere that is favourable to investment and to the expansion of the economy.
The extraordinary progress that has been made in Jammu and Kashmir under the administration headed by PM Modi has destroyed the false narratives that were spread by a small group of persons with vested interests. Through the dissemination of false information and the stoking of discontent, these people aimed to keep the pot boiling.
Their assertions have been refuted, however, by the concrete outcomes of the Union Territory’s efforts to enhance its infrastructure.
The naysayers have been silenced as a result of the increased quality of life, better connectedness, and economic growth that have occurred under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. These three factors serve as a witness to the transformational force of development.
