Truckers appeal to administration for help; some essential supplies affected in Kashmir

Anantnag: The Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained closed for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, with hundreds of vehicles stranded on either side of the Jawahar Tunnel.
While efforts are on to mend and clear the damaged stretches of the road, the closure of the highway has not only left thousands stranded along the road but has also created a shortage of some essentials in Kashmir valley.
Incessant rains had lashed most parts of the union territory for more than three days, triggering shooting stones and mudslides along the highway. “The highway was damaged at certain places. In Udhampur district a 150ft stretch of the highway was washed away due to a mudslide,” a senior official in the administration said.
The worst affected was Devar Bridge area in Samroli of Udhampur district, where the entire bridge was washed away. The authorities have now been blasting the huge boulders to clear them from along the road.
Another bridge, between Ramban and Peera, was demolished by the shooting stones. In total, damage was done to the highway at more than two dozen places in Ramban and Udhampur districts.
“The restoration work is going on twenty-four-seven, but there is still some work to be done. The traffic might remain suspended today as well,” the official said, adding, “Partial movement of traffic might be allowed on Saturday.”
The higher officials in the administration are overlooking the restoration work themselves. Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, was on a day-long tour to different stretches of the national highway on Thursday.
“He took a detailed assessment of the situation,” the official from the administration said.
The closure of the highway has left hundreds of vehicles, mostly trucks, stranded. More than 800 trucks remain stranded between Qazigund and Mirbazar, here in Kulgam and Anantnag districts in south Kashmir.
The truckers are facing a shortage of food, drinking water, and a lack of bathroom facilities. “We have been here for the last four days and no one from the authorities has tried to inquire about our well-being,” a trucker from Rajasthan said, adding that they were facing acute shortage of drinking water.
The truckers said that they somehow manage food but the lack of bathroom facilities and dearth of drinking water was a huge inconvenience. “There are some four odd washrooms erected for the stranded truckers, but only truckers who have their vehicles parked in the vicinity are better off,” another trucker told Kashmir Reader.
They said that most of the truck drivers and their support staff have to walk several kilometers to access the washrooms. “We appeal to the administration to look into the matter and bring some ease to us as we remain stranded,” the truckers pleaded.
Meanwhile, the highway closure has started to affect supplies in the Kashmir valley. From fruits and vegetables to medicine and baby food, the stocks are running out fast.

Suhail A Shah