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National
The signboard put up by the Border Roads Organisation at Sinthan pass, located between Kishtwar and Srinagar. SINTHAN PASS: This is one of the highest passes in Himalayan region. The road project underway has a sign board by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) showing distances between Srinagar and Jammu. The picturesque ridge is all set to gain importance once the government’s proposed move to hand its development over to a joint consortium is set in motion. Work on the project is moving at a slow pace. The dampener was the killing of four General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) personnel including a Lt. Col. by militants on June 13, 2008. The GREF, which is a subsidiary of BRO, had been working on the project which would connect Kishtwar, the remote district in Doda region with Anantnag in South Kashmir. It would not only shorten the distance between mountainous Doda belt and Kashmir but also provide an alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu highway which generally turns hostile during winter. Work on the Anantnag side has picked up with black topping going on but the road divided by the 12,450-ft. high pass is still not safe. Only a few light vehicles from South Kashmir to Kishtwar ply on a daily basis but the pass will close soon after the first snowfall, until April. A traveller has to cover 290 km. to reach Kishtwar via the Srinagar-Jammu highway and the Srinagar-Sinthan-Kishtwar road reduces the distance by 200 km. The work has been undertaken under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan with an outlay of Rs. 250 crore. Earthwork and two-laning have been completed from Batote to Chatroo on the Kishtwar side but the middle stretch needs a lot more work. However, the State government has come up with a new plan to push the project. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told The Hindu that the government was exploring the possibility of construction of tunnels on this route. “The Jammu and Kashmir Bank has expressed interest in funding through a consortium of lenders,” Mr. Abdullah said. While the BRO proposed to have a six-km.-long tunnel between Pahalgarh and Alan Gadole, the State government prefers a four-km.-long tunnel from Singhpora and Vailoo. Roads and Buildings Minister G.M. Saroori said the road to Singhpora from Kishtwar side is almost complete and if this four km. tunnel is through it will reduce the distance from Kishtwar to Anantnag by 60 km. “It is a better idea as the road to Singhpora is 70 per cent complete and being done under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojna,” he said. It would save around Rs. 500 crore.
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