Srinagar, Sep 15: Amid growing outrage over halting of apple trucks on Srinagar- Jammu highway, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that the Union Government should handover the highway to the J&K government if they cannot maintain it.
Talking to reporters, Omar said the Government of India should hand over Srinagar-Jammu national highway to the J&K government if they cannot restore it.
“This highway falls under the jurisdiction of the Government of India. If they cannot maintain it, they should hand it over to us. I will deploy a team of engineers who are currently available here,” Omar said.
Omar said they have failed to make the road fully functional. “Enough is enough. We have been patient because they kept assuring us daily that (restoration) work would be done, but it didn’t happen,” he said.
He said that he will take up the matter of restoration of the highway with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
“I will speak today with Union Minister for Highways, Gadkari Ji and request that highway should be handed over to us and restored for truck movement, “he said.
He said that running just one train is not enough.
“I would request the Railway Minister that one train is not sufficient. We are thankful to you for starting train service. It should be operated on a regular basis so that fruit growers have the option to transport apples either by train or by road,” he said. (KNO)
