Jammu: Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari Tuesday thanked the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for the announcement of the construction of the long-awaited Peer Ki Gali Tunnel on the historic Mughal Road.
Addressing a news conference at the party office in Gandhi Nagar, he emphasised the need for improved road connectivity between different regions of Kashmir and Jammu saying that such connectivity was vital to fostering stronger bonds among the people from different regions and creating new avenues for economic growth and development.
Bukhari expressed his gratitude to Gadkari and praised him for his dedication to building a strong network of roads and highways to connect India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Bukhari also made an appeal to the union minister to fix a timeline for the Peer Ki Gali tunnel project.
Bukhari acknowledged the minister’s generosity towards the people of J&K, citing the increase in the budget for J&K projects from Rs 125 crore to Rs 11,000 crores.
He expressed confidence that Gadkari would continue to demonstrate the same generosity by considering their request to set timelines for all pending projects in J&K, thus ensuring their timely completion.
Bukhari also demanded the construction of tunnels at the Sadhna Top in north Kashmir’s Karnah, and at the Razdan Pass in Bandipora. Earlier, Bukhari appealed to Gadkari to order a probe into a construction agency for its alleged failure to stabilise the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for smooth vehicular movement.
He also asked Gadkari to take “special classes” of the officers engaged in Smart City project in Srinagar and Jammu for narrowing the vital roads on the pretext of beautification.
“We appeal to him to announce a commission of inquiry into the wrong alignments undertaken by the construction companies working on the four-laning of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway project, which resulted in frequent occurrences of shooting stones,” Bukhari said.