Vehicle witness huge traffic jams daily Jammu-Lakhanpur Highway: Symbol of mismanagement

Vehicle witness huge traffic jams daily
Jammu-Lakhanpur Highway: Symbol of mismanagement
Nitesh Sangral
JAMMU, June 12: Despite many efforts to streamline traffic, the national highway at Lakhanpur remains messed up with vehicles, owing to poor management. The long hours in traffic jams irk pilgrims and transporters. The yatris will come on June 25 and near about 50,000 to 60,000 people have arrived here from outside every year. These days heavy rush of vehicles at Lakhanpur toll plaza. They fresh trading people also suffer due to traffic jam. But the concerned authorities have not taken any strict step in this regard till date to stream the traffic problem at there. Source said that the Shri amaranth yatra would be start on June 25 and people start coming. Due to heavy pilgrim rush at Cave shrine, every time we were seen waiting for hours for the traffic jams to ease. They caught in traffic jams for six hours. They have stop Amarnath pilgrims, why are they causing problems to us. Coming days the lakhanpur toll plaza became hub of traffic Jam. “ Every year the concerned authorities claimed they are making all out efforts for smooth vehicular movement on the national highway, especially during yatra time, but the frequent traffic jams for hours make pilgrims suffer a lot” he added. He further said that unlike the Lakhanpur toll plaza of Jammu which is fully computerized, the sales tax counter at Lower Munda toll post is being operated manually which lacks transparency and thus brings huge loss to the state exchequer. The passenger and merchandise vehicles have to spend lot of time at the toll post causing heavy traffic jams as unlike Lakhanpur. The both Excise and Sales Tax departments operating at the toll post are understaffed as a result of which traffic is not regulated properly. He stated that the lack of parking space for vehicles, erratic electric supply, unavailability of water supply and bumpy and pot holed road at the toll post adds to the woes of the passengers and operators of merchandise vehicles. He said that since the department started operating at the check post vehicles remain stranded there for hours together. Also create traffic chaos at the check post. “Due to lack of efficiency and proper monitoring, the Government’s promise of e-governance looks a distant dream,” sources said. Locals said that the reason of this congestion is poor control of traffic, road widening and sudden flow of traffic. Due to all these factors, most of the time, highway remains blocked and it may cost heavily, if administration did not work on it.