Jammu
Jammu-Poonch National Highway 144 A: People demand a double-lane road from Sukha Katha to the bus stand Poonch; authorities are considering an alternate ring road through the river
Jammu-Poonch National Highway 144 A: People demand a double-lane road from Sukha Katha to the bus stand Poonch; authorities are considering an alternate ring road through the river
POONCH TODAY NEWS
POONCH: The 5100 crore Jammu-Poonch national highway project is the biggest gift given by the NDA government to the residents of the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, and the work on it is going on in full swing. From Jammu to Rajouri, more than 85% of the work has been completed, while on the Rajouri-Poonch stretch, it is going on at a slow speed. But a major issue has come into the notice of the people of Poonch, and for that, they sought the immediate attention of the government.
Locals while talking to “POONCH TODAY” said that the Jammu-Poonch double-lane road is up to Sukha Katha near the police lines, and from there, the remaining stretch from Sukha Katha to Bus Stand Poonch is not in the consideration of the government; instead, the concerned authorities have been planning to construct a new double-lane ring road from the Sukha Katha-Police Line road through the Poonch River to Bus Stand. Locals alleged that 80% of the area from Sukah Katha to Bus Stand Poonch is with the government, and it would be better if the concerned authorities abandoned the idea of a ring road and focused on constructing the double-lane road under the national highway 144-A from Sukah Katha to Bus Stand Poonch on the already available historic main road. Locals said, “On the one hand, the government has spent a huge amount of money on this prestigious project, but it is out of understanding that from Sukha Katha to the bus stand, the authorities are considering construction of a ring road through the Poonch River, which will not be accepted at all. They alleged that just to save the illegal constructions in the “Red Zone”, the concerned authorities have planned this illogical idea just to save big land grabbers who have built illegal structures in the said area. The locals sought the immediate attention of LG Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the issue and demanded that the remaining stretch of this highway should be constructed from Sukha Katha to the bus stand by extending the already existing main road, which is nearly 80% with the government. Locals threatened to hit the road if the concerned authorities carry forward with their illogical idea of constructing the ring road through the Poonch river by avoiding the existing main road.