Widening of Shalteng-Narbal highway stretch gains pace

Widening of a stretch of the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway between Shalteng and Narbal in Jammu and Kashmir is in full swing, officials associated with the project said on Tuesday.

Site in charge Ghulam Qadir said, "We have put to work over 100 labourers on this project to speed up the process. We are working on four places on the road. Rest of the work has been completed."

The 7.7 km-long road stretch is being widened to four lanes to enable easy movement of vehicles on National Highway-1 between Parimpora bypass in Srinagar to Narbal in Budgam district.

Locals are hopeful of a reduction of the usual traffic jam on the highway after completion of the work.

"Sometimes ambulances carrying seriously-ill patients get stuck in traffic jam on this road. We appeal to the government and the workers involved in this project to finish the widening at the earliest," a commuter said.

Sanctioned under Prime Minister's Reconstruction Programme (PMRP), the construction work is being carried out by the Border Roads Organization (BRO).

The road link bears significance as it connects two major districts, Baramulla and Kupwara, with state capital Srinagar.