Raises demands for Bandipora-Gurez National Highway status, Gurez Tunnel project
NEW DELHI: Jammu & Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) National Convenor Nasir Khuehami on Tuesday met Vaibhav Dange, Chairman of the Build India Foundation and Advisor to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in New Delhi. He was accompanied by Kunal Sharma, Founder of the International Ruskin Bond School and President of the Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad.
The meeting focused on infrastructure-led development, governance innovation, and policy initiatives related to highways, logistics, and India’s long-term development vision. Discussions also covered sustainable infrastructure, employment generation, entrepreneurship, digital governance, and strengthening road connectivity in the remote and border areas of Jammu & Kashmir.
During the interaction, Khuehami raised the long-pending demand for granting National Highway status to the Bandipora–Gurez road and stressed the urgent need for the construction of the proposed Gurez Tunnel. He highlighted that Gurez Valley remains cut off from the rest of Jammu & Kashmir for several months every year due to heavy snowfall over Razdan Pass, causing severe hardships for residents and affecting access to essential services.
He emphasized that these projects are not merely infrastructure initiatives but strategic investments in border development, national security, and regional prosperity. According to Khuehami, the Bandipora–Gurez Highway and Gurez Tunnel would provide all-weather connectivity, strengthen border infrastructure, improve access to healthcare and education, promote tourism, generate employment, facilitate economic growth, and significantly enhance the quality of life for the people of Gurez.
Khuehami also underscored the need for sustained investment in modern infrastructure across Jammu & Kashmir to unlock the region’s economic potential, improve mobility, and accelerate inclusive development.
He expressed confidence that under the leadership of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, transformative infrastructure projects would continue to receive priority, particularly in remote and strategically important border regions of the Union Territory.