Jammu: Opposition National Conference on Thursday demanded immediate airlifting of stranded passengers in Jammu owing to the closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir with outside world.
In a statement issued here, party’s General Secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar expressed concern over the neglect of passengers stranded in Jammu due to continuous closure of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, saying their sufferings are accumulating each passing day.
“Many of the stranded passengers are in a miserable plight at Jammu Bus Stand, Railway Station and elsewhere and there has been a little effort by the administration in reaching out to them,” Sagar said, adding that this has rendered them clueless about the road status and possibilities of its reopening.
Sagar said that he has taken up the issue with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Revenue Abdul Rehman Veeri for looking after the plight of the stranded passengers and for arranging special air sorties in case the road remains closed. He said this should have already been done by roping in various agencies to ensure prioritized airlifting of the stranded people.
He said the minister has assured him that he will personally look into the matter and take all necessary measures for mitigating the sufferings of the stranded people.
Sagar has hoped that the government would rise to the occasion and come to the rescue of the people in distress. He also urged the Revenue Minister to ensure lodging and other facilities of those stranded on various points of the Jammu-Srinagar Highway. “The government must ensure all facilities to them till the road reopens,” he added.
