Finally, road to Valley opens

Kashmiris living on depleted food and fuel supplies heaved a sigh of relief today as a fleet of trucks loaded with essentials crossed the Ja...

Kashmiris living on depleted food and fuel supplies heaved a sigh of relief today as a fleet of trucks loaded with essentials crossed the Jawahar tunnel towards the Valley, with the Jammu-Srinagar national highway being ‘‘temporarily’’ opened after three weeks.

State Consumer and Public Distribution Minister Taj Mohideen promised that beginning tomorrow, there would be no crunch of essentials. The national highway — Kashmir’s sole link to the outside world—would see flow of supplies in the first two days. ‘‘There will be no scarcity of food and fuel supplies.

As many as 1,500 truckloads of

essentials, including 450 carrying petrol, will reach Kashmir by tomorrow evening,’’ Mohideen added.

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Srinagar’s heaviest snowfall in 15 years has left 270 people dead and the Valley struggling without electricity, drinking water, communication and transport since the third week of February. Lately, stocks of domestic gas, petrol and food too had started depleting, and the government had to turn to the Army’s strategic supplies, especially petrol.

For now, the J-K highway may not see any public transport however. Mohideen said they had been advised by the Army and Border Roads Organisation against it because of the danger of avalanches along the 300-km stretch.

The minister said the Central Government also planned to construct tunnels on the vulnerable stretches, like from Chenani to Ramban and Digdole to Ramban, to avoid road blockades. ‘‘Besides we will be building shelters, community kitchens and ration storage units enroute to avoid inconvenience to passengers stranded on the road,’’ he said.

Mohideen also appreciated the fact that the entire nation had stood behind Kashmiris in their hour of crisis. ‘‘The Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defence Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, everyone sympathised with the people of Kashmir…The Centre has been kind enough to give an immediate grant of Rs 50 crore to tide over the crisis,’’ he added.