Avinash Azad
Expressing strong dissatisfaction over the pace of restoration work on the strategically vital Rajouri–Thanamandi–Surankote road, Member of Parliament Mian Altaf Ahmad has accused the concerned authorities of failing to respond effectively even two weeks after a devastating cloudburst severely damaged the highway.
The road, which suffered extensive damage during the July 16 cloudburst, remains closed to regular traffic, disrupting civilian movement and raising concerns over connectivity in the Pir Panjal region. Following an on-site inspection of the affected stretch, the MP said the restoration effort had fallen far short of expectations.
“I am not happy with the response of the concerned authorities regarding restoration works of the road. I have raised this issue in Parliament as well,” Mian Altaf told Hidden News.
The MP’s remarks reflect growing public frustration over the prolonged closure of the only crucial road connecting Rajouri, Thanamandi and Surankote via Dehra Ki Gali (DKG).
According to local journalist Zamarrud Hussain, who has been closely monitoring the restoration work, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has indicated that the road may become operational for limited traffic shortly.
However, sources associated with the project said the immediate objective is only to restore a “single-lane carriageway” for emergency movement. They said retaining walls have collapsed at multiple locations across nearly seven kilometres following the cloudburst, making full restoration a complex engineering challenge.
Officials associated with the project have reportedly cautioned that even after reopening, traffic should ideally be restricted to “daytime hours” because several stretches remain unstable after the road subsided at multiple points.
“There are multiple vulnerable locations where the road has sunk. Night traffic would be risky. Since only one lane is likely to be opened initially, unrestricted movement could also lead to severe congestion,” a source familiar with the restoration work said.
The latest damage has once again exposed the vulnerability of the ambitious road project, which has already witnessed repeated delays. The double-laning project was initially awarded in October 2020 to DCIPL at a contract value of ₹284.21 crore against an estimated cost of ₹330.10 crore. According to project sources, the company completed only part of the work before abandoning the project.
Following sustained protests by local residents and repeated interventions by elected representatives, including Members of the Legislative Assembly and MP Mian Altaf Ahmad, the BRO reportedly sub-let the remaining work to a local contractor in 2024, enabling significant progress before the recent natural disaster struck.
While officials describe the cloudburst as a force majeure event covered under contractual provisions, local stakeholders argue that authorities still lack a comprehensive disaster-response mechanism to quickly restore strategic infrastructure following such calamities. The latest setback has also revived concerns over the long-term durability of the project. Sources fear that complete reconstruction of the damaged sections could take another two to three years if comprehensive protection measures are required.
The Rajouri–Thanamandi–Surankote road via DKG is regarded as one of the most strategically significant corridors in the Pir Panjal region. Besides serving thousands of civilians, it is a crucial logistics route for security forces operating across the mountainous belt. The corridor has witnessed multiple terrorist ambushes in recent years, making its uninterrupted availability critical from both operational and national security perspectives.
Originally launched with considerable public expectation in April 2021, BRO project was projected to be completed within two years and was widely described as a major infrastructure initiative of the Modi Government for the people of the Pir Panjal region.
However, recurring execution delays, contractor-related setbacks and now extensive damage caused by the July 16 cloudburst have placed the project’s future under renewed scrutiny. With Parliament now seized of the issue through MP Mian Altaf’s intervention, pressure is mounting on the concerned agencies to accelerate restoration efforts and formulate a long-term plan to ensure that one of Jammu and Kashmir’s most strategic roads remains resilient against future natural disasters.
