Member of Parliament (MP) from Baramulla, Er Rashid on Thursday raised the demand for granting Kupwara-Karnah Road, Bandipora-Gurez Road and Kupwara-Keran Road the status of National Highways in Jammu and Kashmir.
Responding to the query, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari said that while these roads are not currently designated as National Highways, the government will conduct a study and assess the feasibility of upgrading them in the future.
The minister highlighted the massive infrastructure push in Jammu and Kashmir, revealing that the government is currently executing road and tunnel projects worth 2 lakh crore in the Union Territory.
He added that 105 tunnels are being constructed, including 36 tunnels between Jammu and Srinagar, out of which 22 have already been completed.
Gadkari said these developments will reduce travel time between Jammu and Srinagar from 8-9 hours to just 3-3.5 hours, while the journey from Katra to Delhi will be completed in just 6 hours.
The minister also mentioned the ongoing construction of Asia’s largest tunnel under the Kargil hills, which was originally estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crore but was tendered for just Rs 5,500 crore, saving substantial public funds.
He said that 70% of the tunnel’s work has been completed, even under extreme conditions where temperatures drop to minus 8 degrees Celsius.
Gadkari assured that Border Roads Organization (BRO) and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) are actively engaged in road and tunnel construction across Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and the North-East.
While the Kupwara-Karna, Bandipora-Gurez, and Kupwara-Keran roads do not currently have National Highway status, the Centre has assured that once the ongoing infrastructure projects are completed, a fresh assessment will be conducted to determine their future degradation—(KNO)
