Srinagar August 05: The road macdamisation in Jammu and Kashmir has touched a record level which increased from 8.57 km per day during 2017-2020 to 15.75 km during 2020-2023.
As per the official details available with Morning Kashmir, daily average macdamisation during 2017-2020 was 8.57 km which rose to 15.57 km per day during 2020-2023.
The average of 20.84 km per day was achieved during 2021-2022.
The figures reveal that 16,807 km of roads have been macadamized during the last three years under various central and UT sector schemes. While 7909 km was macadamized during 2021-2022 alone.
An official said the Public Works Department of J&K has embarked on a mission to reach out to unconnected habitations with road connectivity, strengthen and expand the intra UT road network, especially in rural and remote areas.
Due to better road connectivity, the travel times across Jammu and Kashmir has been reduced, he said.
Take instance, the travel time from Jammu to Kishtwar has been reduced from 7.5 hrs to 5 hrs and travel time from Jammu to Srinagar has been reduced from 7-12 hours to 5.5 hours for LMVs. Similarly travel time from Srinagar to Gulmarg has been reduced from 3 hours to 1.5 hours and layover of trucks reduced from 24-72 hours to 12 hours.
Last year, Jammu and Kashmir was ranked among top three performing States/UTs at national level for construction of road length per year under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). J&K maintained its rank as the Public Works Department (R&B) constructed PMGSY road length of 3284 kms during the year 2021-22 and connected 114 habitations through road networks by executing 427 schemes in the year.
Under pothole free road programme, a target of 5900 kilometers was achieved for 2021-22.
Moreover, to prevent damage to roads during the snow clearance during winter, the R&B department has introduced a new concept of fitting high-strength poly material on the machines.
