Srinagar: Massive traffic jams due to very bad roads conditions and two-day ban on civilian movement in a week has irked commuters, including tourists, travelling on Srinagar-Jammu national highway, connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country.
Commuters alleged that security forces were not restricting its convoy movements on the highway to only Wednesday and Sunday, the two days in a week, the highway from Baramulla to Jammu, has been made off limits for civilian traffic.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court (HC) has sought response by Tuesday from the state government on a plea filed by IAS-officer-turned politician Shah Faesal, seeking striking down of the ban on movement of civilian traffic on the Kashmir-Jammu national highway for two days a week.
A traffic police official told UNI that traffic on Tuesday will ply from Srinagar to Jammu on the national highway before it is closed on Wednesday for the security force convoy movement.
However, commuters travelling on the national highway from Srinagar to Jammu told UNI that they have been moving with snail’s pace and were struck at various places on highway due to traffic jams. “We left early in the morning from Baramulla, but we have been stuck at many places on the highway due to movement of security force convoys,” Nazir Ahmad told UNI over the phone.
Mr Nazir said now due to bad and narrow condition of the highway at many places in Banihal, vehicles are allowed alternatively from both the sides of the highway. “The traffic police is claiming that it is only the local traffic which is allowed from the opposite directing, but I saw many vehicles which had number plates registered to different districts of the valley. How can they be locals,” Mr Nazir alleged.
Meanwhile, people, who had to travel to Kashmir from Jammu, left early in the morning from the winter capital of the state to Banihal, where they will avail the train service to reach to their respective destinations as the highway will be closed for civilian traffic on Wednesday.
The government in an order had said that civilian traffic will not be allowed on Kashmir-Jammu national highway for two days — Wednesdays and Sundays — in a week for security reasons between 0400 hrs to 1700 hrs, attracting sever criticism from political parties and general public. Only security force convoys will be allowed on these two days.
However, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah posted a video on social networking site twitter on Monday of an Army convoy moving on the highway. Mr Abdullah, who is the Vice President of National Conference (NC), said Abdullah said if it is safe for security forces convoys to move on Monday without closing the highway to civilian traffic why is it not safe on Wednesdays and Sundays.
“Nothing proves the mindlessness of the order more than army movement on unsafe days,” Mr Abdullah said.
Mr Abdullah said he is simply trying to highlight the point that the architects of the highway closure have made no application of mind. “Somehow this convoy on the highway is safe today but it wouldn’t have been yesterday and won’t be on Wednesday,” he added.
A division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Tashi Rabstan issued a notice to the state government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Mr Faesal, through his counsel advocate Tassaduq Khwaja.
In his plea, Mr Faisal argued that the April 3 government order announcing the ban of civilian movement on highway, violates the fundamental rights of citizens, including those to life, health, education and livelihood.
“The imposition of a blanket ban on the movement of all civilians for two continuous days in a week cannot be said to be in the public interest. In fact, it serves no public interest. It causes more harm than serving any common good,” the plea said.
