Click to play videoSrinagar: There are crowded bus stands, impatient passengers, long queues and even longer delays on the National Highway 1-A, the only road link to the Kashmir valley, which is facing one of its worst traffic jams ever.
The 300-km long highway was closed on the March 11 after heavy rains and landslides damaged parts of the road. And travellers like Mohammed Yousuf have been virtually living on this road for a week now.
“How can we sleep, we are on the road without proper clothing and shelter. There is no peace of mind,” says Yousuf
It will take at least another two to three days to repair the road near Penthal, the most damaged spot on the highway. Over 7,000 stranded passengers have crossed the damaged stretch on foot. But over a thousand vehicles - many of them carrying essential commodities like vegetables, meat and milk - are still stuck.
“The ministers and government has refused to listen to us. All phones of officials and ministers are switched off. Where will we go? We are not beggars,” says another stranded passenger Haji Abdul Amir.
The highway was also blocked last month for over 10 days. The Border Roads Organisation, which is responsible for the maintenance of the highway, says a long-term solution involves expanding the road to four lanes.
The four-laning project is a long-term plan. We will tunnels here for a short term we will have to make a bypass,” says Director general, Border Road Organisation, Lt Gen K Rao.
But until those solutions come, the end of the road for these passengers is still some time away.
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