Baramulla, Jan 8: Traffic movement on the Baramulla–Uri highway remained suspended on Thursday after landslides, triggered by ongoing drilling and excavation work for road expansion, hit the road stretch near Eco Park, here.
The landslides caused panic among commuters, many of whom were stranded on the highway for hours. The vehicles came to a complete halt as debris and loose rocks blocked the road, forcing authorities to suspend traffic to prevent any mishaps. The authorities later asked the commuters heading for Uri and other areas to use an alternative road passing through old town.
The landslide on Thursday, was the third such incident in the last ten days, prompting authorities to suspend the traffic movement on the Baramulla-Uri highway. Frequent landslides near the Eco Park area have now emerged as a persistent cause of concern for daily commuters and residents.
Locals said that such incidents have become routine ever since the road expansion work began on the Baramulla–Uri highway. The highway is currently undergoing expansion under the supervision of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The NH-01 expansion project has been divided into several packages, with contracts awarded to different companies under BRO. However, residents and civil society members have raised serious concerns over the lack of supervision and poor execution of work, which they believe is a major reason behind the recurring landslides. Muhammad Ashraf, a local resident and civil society member, while reacting to the situation, said that although the contract for the road expansion has been awarded to a Haryana-based company by the BRO, the execution on the ground is largely being carried out by local contractors without proper technical supervision. “The concerned company must supervise the entire project. Drilling and excavation activities involved in cutting the mountain are highly sensitive and should be carried out strictly under the supervision of qualified engineers. In the absence of such supervision, landslides on this stretch have become the norm,” Ashraf said.
The Srinagar–Baramulla–Uri stretch of NH-01 is a major infrastructure initiative. While the four-lane project on the Srinagar–Baramulla section is nearing completion, the Baramulla–Uri double-lane widening is still underway and is expected to be completed by 2027. Several local construction firms are also involved in smaller maintenance and surface works along the route.
The Baramulla–Uri two-lane upgrade forms a crucial component of the Srinagar–Baramulla four-lane project, a flagship initiative of the J&K administration aimed at improving connectivity.
The Srinagar–Baramulla stretch has seen significant progress across major packages, including Narbal–Pattan, Tapper–Sangrama, the Sangrama flyover, and the Delina flyover, covering over 96 hectares of land. However, locals fear that discrepancies, lack of monitoring in the Baramulla–Uri section could not only endanger lives but also undermine public trust in the ambitious infrastructure project.
