Srinagar: Giving a major push to road connectivity across Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory Government has set a new record of constructing 6,450 km of road length and achieved third rank in the target of longest road length in the country.

During the past two years, road and tunnel infrastructure has been prioritized and around one lakh crore is being spent to build a robust road network in Jammu and Kashmir, an official spokesman said.

He said the new record of constructing 6,450 km of road length achieved third rank to Jammu and Kashmir in the target of longest road length in the country.

The government is ensuring construction of 20 Km road length and macadamization of 15 Km road stretch every single day.

Significantly in 2022 for the second consecutive year, J&K has successfully maintained its national ranking as J&K was once again ranked among top three performing states/UTs at the national level for construction of road length per year under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

The ranking of Jammu and Kashmir among the top performers in implementation of PMGSY is testimony to the efforts of the J&K government towards streamlining road connectivity. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are now reaping full benefits of road connectivity which they were deprived of for the past seventy years.

With construction of three of the six tunnels, including the strategic Z-Morh tunnel expected to be completed by mid-2023, road connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India is set to get a big leg up.

Four of the six tunnels coming up on National Highway-244, connecting Jammu to Anantnag included Khellani tunnel, the KM 83 tunnel, Sudhmahadev-Dranga tunnel and Singhpora-Vailoo tunnel.

Once the four tunnels are ready, travel time between Jammu and Anantnag will get reduced from the current 11-12 hours to 6 hours.

The remaining two tunnels on NH-1, the strategically crucial Zojila and Z-Morh, will provide all-weather road connectivity between Srinagar and Kargil.

The Central Government is supporting and supplementing the efforts of J&K administration in streamlining the rural infrastructure so that the road and bridge connectivity is enhanced benefitting UT populace especially the rural residents making their lives easier and happier.

Besides, 100 bridges are under construction to make an end to frequent traffic congestion thus ensuring smooth vehicular movement.

The initiative is in line with the vision of the government to provide all urban facilities in rural areas by 2023.

(With UNI inputs)