850-Cr Sgr-Uri Mega National Highway Project Gains Momentum towards Success
Suhail Khan
BARAMULA, Dec 22 : The ongoing construction of the expansive four-lane National Highway from central Kashmir’s Srinagar to Uri signifies a monumental endeavor valued at an impressive 850 crore.
Making strides, Dr. Syed Sehrish Asgar, Baramulla’s Deputy Commissioner, exuded unwavering confidence in the project’s timely completion.
Dr. Sehrish underscored the manifold advantages this project offers, envisioning substantial progress in tourism, healthcare, and various sectors upon its conclusion. She heralds this highway as a pivotal catalyst for regional development.
This four-lane thoroughfare, linking Srinagar to Uri, is adjacent to Muzaffarabad (PoK). Moreover, it seeks to seamlessly integrate Asia’s second-largest fruit mandi with the nation’s transportation network, ensuring smoother logistics.
After the abrogation of Article 370, a surge in developmental projects marked a transformative wave of progress and growth in the region.
In a conversation with Kashmir Despatch, a young resident from North Kashmir expressed the community’s positive outlook toward these long-awaited developments. “Commencing these projects 15 years ago would have been ideal,” the youngster commented, acknowledging the region’s evolving landscape.
“Previously stifled by strikes and a lack of developmental initiatives, the area now witnesses a transformative phase. As young individuals, we eagerly embrace this change.”
Officials said that the Srinagar Baramulla expressway will not only boost the tourism sector in the area but assist fruit business, healthcare and education sector also. Once completed, the travel time will be reduced from 2 and half hours to only 40-45 minutes.
“Tourists often choose Srinagar and other areas because of extensive travel hours to Baramulla. There are dozens of breathtaking places in Baramulla and other parts of north Kashmir but the road from Srinagar was making it problematic for the tourists,” Ishfaq Ahmad, a hotelier in Baramulla said.
He said that the expressway will probably now attract more tourists to north Kashmir now. Not only tourism but doctors at GMC are of the opinion that the expressway will assist healthcare to a large extent.
“Whenever a patient was referred to city hospital, either he would die midway or the attendants would feel frustrated due to regular traffic jams at Sangrama, Pattan and other areas on the Baramulla Srinagar highway. Now, the problem won’t be faced by patients or the attendants,” they added.
The health care officials said that although it will take some time, an expressway in Baramulla with minimum travel time to Srinagar will definitely enhance healthcare in North Kashmir.
The palpable optimism resonating among Kashmir’s populace regarding these transformative initiatives echoes a collective aspiration for a brighter future and enhanced socio-economic opportunities. Baramulla has also become an aspirational district due to its growth in developmental works.
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
