J&K: A highway moves on

Jammu-Srinagar, September 2: After an impasse that stalled traffic between Jammu and Kashmir for nearly two months, the restoration of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has come as a relief to many whose livelihoods depended on the 290-km National Highway to Kashmir. Now, a semblance of normalcy has returned to the region as the flow of traffic from both sides resumed this September. Roadside vendors opened shop, commercial traffic finally got back on track and, most importantly, the sense of fear finally left passengers on the road.

Echoing the relief of many, truck driver Javed Ahmed, who drove his fruit-laden truck in the daylight towards Jammu after almost two months, says: “We have lived in fear for the past two months. The only time we travelled was at night in fear of stone-pelting. We want things to get back to normal now.”

At the roadside village of Banihal, located just a few kilometres south of the Jawahar Tunnel, which has for years been the meeting point of the Kashmir Valley with Jammu region, the change is most visible. After the first lot of trucks from Kashmir — more than 750 going by official records, including 70 carrying fruit — came though the Jawahar tunnel on Monday, Banihal got back into action. Dhabas cooked up favourite snacks, vehicle service stations opened up and passengers from Srinagar to Jammu stopped over for breaks.

Many, like Mohd Hussain who took out his mini van after two months to ferry passengers to Jammu, are not too concerned about the politics of the land deal but are just glad that their work is on track again. “I haven’t worked for two months. I just wanted to take passengers to Jammu after I heard that the route has been cleared up,” he says.

Sitting in the same tea shop, Abdul Hamid, whose farms lie just outside the village, is a very relieved man. The lifting of the agitation has come at a very fortunate time for him — his paddy crop has just been harvested last week and is ready for transportation to the Jammu market. “We were all tired of the bandh,” is all he says.

The long line of trucks carrying supplies — fuel, food, construction equipment — to the Valley are also moving at a faster pace. With the night-time restriction lifted, these items are set to reach the Valley within 12 hours, which is a considerable improvement from the past two months, when it took as long as four to five days for a truck to reach Kashmir.

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