Keeping in view the susceptibility of the national highway and repeated terror attacks in the vicinity of the international border in Jammu and Kashmir and more recently in Punjab, the Army is urgently seeking upgradation of the alternate road link from Pathankot to Udhampur.
The Army, according to sources, is also mulling the establishment of two new military stations along the alternative route to cater to its operational requirements.
A 133-km road exists from Dhar village, located east of Pathankot, which links with Udhampur where the Army’s Northern Command is headquartered. Despite being the shortest route from Pathankot to Udhampur, it is used very little by the Army as well as civilian traffic, essentially due to its poor state of maintenance and lack of adequate infrastructure.
Sources said the issue of developing a viable alternate route had been taken up at the highest level in the government and a presentation was also made to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar recently by top commanders from the Western Command.
“The development of the Dhar-Udhampur road as a viable alternate axis to J&K is imperative in the context of the prevailing security situation and wil have enormous advantages both from the civil as well as military point of view,” a senior officer said.
“It will not only reduce dependence on the national highway and help civilian and commercial traffic to bypass congested places like Jammu and Nagrota, but will also help in socio-economic amelioration of the local population and exploit tourism potential of the region,” he said.
The Dhar-Udhampur Road was constructed by the Central Public Works Department on single lane specifications in 1973. In 1990, it was taken over by the Border Roads Organisation and is presently being maintained by Project Sampark under national highway double-lane specifications. It runs almost parallel and 20-35 km east of the national highway and there are four lateral roads interconnecting the two roads.
To make it operationally sustainable, numerous stretches of the road need strengthening, curve improvement and maintenance. Several bridges also need refurbishment for two-way traffic. In addition, a stretch of about 8 km under the jurisdiction of the Ranjit Sagar Dam authorities is not open to civilian traffic, further dissuading the use of this route.