Anantnag, August 2: The formal communiqués about the Doda-Dessa-Kapran road project have not yet been released by the Public Works Department (PWD) and National Highways and Infrastructure Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).
The chairman of NHIDCL received a letter on the project from the office of the Union Ministry of State (MoS) Jitendra Singh on April 21 of this year.
The letter was issued when Doda Vijay Mohan Thakur, district president of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), made his case.
“I’m sending the MoS in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, a letter with the reference number BJP/D/21 dated March 23, 2023, from the district president of the BJP, Vijay Mohan Thakur, asking for the building of the Doda-Dessa-Kapran road, which will serve as a better and safer alternative to the current National Highway between the Kashmir and Jammu regions. The communiqué said, “I have been ordered to look into the problem for appropriate action since the region comes within the minister’s Parliamentary constituency.
But little progress has been made since then.
According to NHIDCL Project Manager Raghu Nath Sharma, there have not yet been any directives to take over the road or create its Detailed Project Report (DPR).
Prior to this, on March 2 of this year, a letter with a similar subject line and the number PS/OSD/Adv (B) 36/1110 was sent to the Principal Secretary to the Government PWD in regards to the Lieutenant Governor’s office’s approval of the Doda-Dessa-Kapran-Verinag route.
Following the representation made to the LG Advisor by the Greater Verinag Civil Society, that letter was written.
“The president of the society went to the LG’s Advisor (B) and asked for the Doda-Desa road, which has been a real and long-standing need in the neighbourhood. In this regard, the Principal Secretary PWD is respectfully requested to have the problem clarified and take the appropriate measures in accordance with regulations, the communiqué said.
Ishtiyaq Hussain, Executive Engineer Roads and Buildings (R&B), Qazigund Division, said that the DPR was not yet complete and authorised.
According to a government official, the preliminary Doda-Dessa-Kapran road DPR provided by the R&B Department for the segment of the route that passes through Kashmir has been under review for more than four years.
On the Kashmiri side of Verinag, the 47-km road section between Hengipora-Kapran hamlet was anticipated to cost Rs 210 crore.
An official said, “The DPR of the road, excluding a tunnel for the time being, had been forwarded to the government for final approval a few years ago. However, the government is still monitoring the DPR,”
He said that the Jammu division was responsible for preparing the DPR from the Doda side to Desa.
The idea to build the Doda-Dessa-Kapran route was first put up in 1958, during Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad’s rule.
When the residents of Doda started agitating for its construction, the opening of the route gained speed.
Later, in 1978, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah made a similar commitment.
Mehbooba Mufti and the then-Chief Minister Mufti Muhamad Sayeed both gave orders for the DPR’s preparation during the previous PDP-BJP coalition government’s administration.
Once finished, the route would have connected the southern Kashmiri districts of Anantnag and Doda, Ramban, and perhaps Kishtwar.
By reducing the present 229 km journey via the Jawahar Tunnel to 140 km, it would have been possible to decrease the distance between Srinagar and Doda by 90 kilometres.
Doda is really just 45 km from Kashmir’s southernmost point through Dooru in the Anantnag district.
People still have to walk 35 km to get to Doda since the road on the Doda side is only motorable up to Manjami in Desa.
Up till the hamlet of Hengipora-Kapran in Dooru-Verinag on the Kashmir side, it is motorable.
Building a tunnel through the Pir Panjal range is necessary to finish the connection and cut the distance even further.
An official said, “Not much has been done to begin the construction of the 7-km long tunnel that was to be built near Gayi in Desa.” The tunnel’s development has been announced by the J&K government in 2009.
Former chief minister and MP Ghulam Nabi Azad requested the designation of Doda-Dessa-Kapran Road as a National Highway in 2016.
“It is high time that the road be handed over to the NHIDCL so that the project at least sees some progress,” an official said.
Locals said that the Desa-Verinag-Dooru road would be safer than other routes to Doda.
“This road is one of the shortest possible routes to Kashmir and safe too with no danger zone of shooting stones or landslides,” said Ishtiyaq Deva, a local activist of Chenab Valley.
He said that a tunnel would make it an all-weather road and drastically reduce the number of accidents that had become routine in these districts.
“This road traverses Doda district, touching most of the habitats including Bhaderwah, Thathri, Gundoo Balais which otherwise are connected with narrow precarious roads,” Deva said.
The residents of Bhatta village in district Doda frequently trek the Braribal mountain to reach Kapran in Kashmir for purchasing merchandise.
“Our ancestors came from Kashmir through this route,” Deva said.
Babar Nehru, a lawyer from Doda, said that the area had a tremendous tourism potential with breathtaking scenic spots.
“The lakes like Paritalab and Brari are a treat to the eyes,” he said.
Babar said that the government could for now at least construct the road on the lines of Kokernag-Sinthan-Kishtwar road.
“This will at least connect Doda with Anantnag in summer months till the tunnel comes up to make it an all-weather route,” he said.
Locals expressed hopes that the road would become a reality under the Union Surface Minister Nitin Gadkari’s stint.
“We hope he won’t let us down and announce its construction at the earliest,” said Syed Ishfaq of Kapran.
