The chief secretary has called for a four-hour halt of traffic for a period of five days from Friday to carry out urgent repairs on landslide prone stretches of NH-44 by NHAI.
Mehta asked officers to ensure smooth movement of fruit-laden trucks on the highway. He also asked officers to complete the double laning of stretches between Banihal and Ramban and its subsequent black topping within a period of 10 days.
To ensure minimum hindrance for the traffic movement, the repair work will be undertaken only during the night when traffic is lean and minimum.
The chief secretary has asked officials to employ scientific methods like use of GPS technology and others for better management of traffic and procure road safety gear.
Information regarding the logistics procured for the repair work was also shared. The meeting was informed that the procurement of 213 bikes (one for each police station), 110 Royal Enfield bikes, 23 cranes, 20 mobile vehicle interceptors, 16 highway patrolling vehicles has been completed and their retrofitting is going on for their customised use.
An amount of ₹1.52 crore is being spent on acquiring of other traffic equipment.
National Highway 44 (NH 44) is the longest-running major north–south National Highway in India. It starts from Srinagar and terminates in Kanyakumari.
The highway passes through Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
(With inputs from PTI)
