People Launch Forum For Mughal Road
Srinagar- To counter elements inimical to the construction of the Mughal Road, residents of Shopyan have launched a Forum campaign in favour of resuming work on the crucial project.
The road. which takes off from Shopyan and leads to the Poonch district links the Kashmir valley to the Jammu province and is an alternative to the existing, but unreliable, Srinagar-Jammu Highway.
Ever since the central government cleared the project, it has been facing roadblock of various sorts, including environmental concerns voiced by certain quarters, but last month the Supreme Court had ruled that attempts to halt work on the road were illegal.
Locals in the Shopyan however say that some vested interests and regressive elements are opposed to constructing the alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu highway. They have united under a non-political banner, the Front Against Anti-Mughal Road Elements, which will kick off its campaign to mobilize public opinion in favour of the road by a seminar in the Shopyan town hall on the coming Monday. The Mughal Road is a long standing demand of the people in the valley, particularly in Shopyan and experts consider it a viable substitute for the Srinagar-Jammu highway.
The valley's sole surface link with the rest of the country, is prone to massive landslides in bad weather and remains closed for weeks on end. Travelers often get stranded for days together, and a dependent Kashmir is deprived of essential supplies.
Experts believe that constructing the Mughal Road would bring such problems down to zero.
But Shopyan residents say that the project is prey to petty politics as some vested interests are bent upon sacrificing the collective interests of Kashmiris. A public delegation from Shopyan said that for now they have deemed it appropriate to adopt a democratic approach, but if their voce goes unheard; they will take to the streets, and entire responsibility for the consequences will lay on the government