JAMMU: Nearly 12,000 km of roads, including the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, were damaged in recent floods and landslides across the Union Territory, officials said.
Restoration work on the Udhampur-Ramban stretch is underway on a war footing and is expected to be completed by this evening.
“Out of the total 42,000 km road network, around 12,000 km were affected by the flash floods,” Principal Secretary of the Public Works Department, Anil Kumar Singh, said while presenting an overview of road infrastructure and flood-related damages to Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Monday.
Officials from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) highlighted major damage on the Udhampur-Ramban stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, which is being repaired. They added that traffic on the Dhar-Udhampur stretch will operate one way starting Tuesday. Out of 105 bridges on the highway, three were damaged but have now been restored.
Expressing concern over the collapse of the Seri-Kath Bridge at Kathua despite its recent construction, the Deputy CM directed NHAI to carry out a design and structural audit of all agency-built bridges. He also instructed coordination with other agencies for the swift restoration of damaged infrastructure.
According to BRO officials, roads such as Rajouri-Thannamandi, Surankote, Reasi-Arnas-Mahore, Rajouri-Kandi-Budhal, Pouni-Sair-Rajouri, Beeri-Pethan-Jhulas, and Akhnoor-Poonch have been restored. Work on the Budhal-Mahore-Gul road is temporarily blocked but expected to resume within a week. Temporary restoration of Kishtwar-Chastoi, Doda-Kishtwar, and Kishtwar-Sintan roads has been completed, with remaining stretches under intensive repair.
The Deputy CM emphasized conducting safety audits for all bridges, including scientific reviews of design and alignment, to preserve the eco-fragile mountain environment. He stressed that all restoration deadlines must be met, and agencies or contractors showing negligence should face strict actions, including blacklisting.
