Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government Saturday partially relaxed the two-day-a-week restrictions on the movement of civilian traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway which was put in place to facilitate the movement of security forces' convoys.
The restriction on civilian movement between Srinagar and Baramulla on NH-44 would now be limited only to Sunday w.e.f. 22-04-2019. There would be no prohibition on civilian traffic on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the government had imposed the restrictions on the national highway (NH-44) connecting Jammu to Srinagar, days after the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The restriction barred civilian traffic from plying on the road on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Now, there would be no restrictions from Srinagar to Baramulla (both in the Kashmir region) on Wednesdays, an official spokesperson said Saturday.
However, the restrictions would continue between Srinagar and Udhampur, in the Jammu region, on NH-44 as earlier, he said. These would be reviewed periodically and relaxation would be made as the need for restriction reduces.
Even on the days of restrictions, i.e. Sunday and Wednesday between Srinagar and Udhampur and on Sunday between Baramulla and Srinagar, the local administration would continue to facilitate the movement of civilian traffic as has been happening in the last two weeks. Further, the local administration and police would examine the possibility of allowing public transport of JKSRTC to move during the period of restriction on the NH even on convoy days.
A complete review of restrictions on the Highway would be done after the last phase of elections on 06-05-2019 to examine the need for continuing with them. "These would be reviewed periodically and relaxation would be made as the need for restriction reduces," the spokesperson said.
The Government stated that the purpose of these restrictions is in the larger interest of the security of everyone and appealed the people to extend full cooperation in the smooth regulation of traffic. The Government is alive to the needs of people and inconvenience caused to them while being cognizant of the needs of security forces. The restrictions strike a balance between the two. The restrictions will be reviewed on a real-time basis and modifications will be made as necessary in the coming days.
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