Poor road connectivity to Poonch amid a tense border scenario is a big public concern; Work on a war footing is needed on the national highway

Poor road connectivity to Poonch amid a tense border scenario is a big public concern; Work on a war footing is needed on the national highway

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH/RAJOURI: The work on the Jammu-Poonch national highway, especially on the Bhatadurian-Poonch stretch, needs special attention from the union government, as the sensitive border region recently witnessed a war-like situation in which fourteen innocent people, including children, lost their lives due to Pakistani shelling. During the emergency, people in large numbers left Poonch city, and adding to their woes was the worst road connectivity from Poonch to Rajouri.

The other day, some tunnels on the Akhnoor-Rajouri route were thrown open for security forces, but it’s the common man of the region that has been suffering a lot due to poor road connectivity. On the one hand, the Poonch-Rajouri region witnessed a disaster due to Pakistani shelling, but on the other hand, the people suffered a lot due to poor road connectivity. Moreover, the coming Amarnath Yatra and monsoon season indicate that the said road is all set to witness tough moments again, which will ultimately cause huge inconvenience to the people because no efforts are being made from any quarter to stress upon the concerned agency to complete the work on a war footing basis. Locals, while sharing their views with “POONCH TODAY,” said that all the tunnels on the Akhnoor-Rajouri stretch need to be made fully functional for the convenience of the public because in case of any medical emergency or future aggression from Pakistan, the people of the Poonch-Rajouri region will suffer again. Time and again, it was seen that DC Poonch visited the Bhatadurian stretch of the road to see the pace of work in addition to conducting meetings with the concerned agency officials, but nothing substantial has been achieved on the ground, and this is a huge public concern. Now, the Amarnath yatra and monsoon season are on the cards, and this road is likely to witness a heavy rush of traffic, but due to the poor condition of the road from Rajouri to Poonch, the yatris are also bound to suffer inconvenience. At a time when the Poonch district is at the center of a conflict between Bharat and Pakistan through Operation Sindoor, which is still not over, ignoring the proper road connectivity from Rajouri to Poonch by the government will give a big blow to the confidence of the people of Poonch. Amid the tense security scenario, which is likely to be escalated heavily from the Indian side if Pakistan scripts a foul play again, as PM Modi said the other day that any act of terror from Pakistan will be considered an act of war, the people of Poonch will suffer from poor road connectivity, and if that happens again, it will add salt to the wounds of the people of Poonch. Additionally, the stretch must be made fully operational for the smooth movement of Army vehicles from a security perspective. It’s high time for the Union government and J&K UT government to take this issue of poor road connectivity from Rajouri to Poonch in addition to opening all the tunnels on the Akhnoor-Rajouri stretch on the war footing level, and if the government fails to address the issue with immediate priority, it’s the people of Poonch and Rajouri who will suffer again heavily, feel people with farsighted vision on the emerging security situation in the region.