Vehicular Movement at Zojila Pass during Winters: Div Com Kashmir Reviews Preparedness Measures

SRINAGAR : In view of winter season, Divisional Commissioner (Div Com) Kashmir, Anshul Garg, on Wednesday chaired a meeting to review the regulation of vehicular movement on the Srinagar–Sonmarg–Gumri (SSG) road and the opening and closure schedule of the Zojila Pass, which connects the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.
During the meeting, the Divisional Commissioner urged District Administrations of Kargil and Ganderbal, SSP Rural Kashmir, and officers from BRO and BEACON to maintain close coordination for timely opening and closure of the Zojila Pass based on weather conditions and road status, in consultation with BRO and VIJAYAK.
Officials briefed the Div Com that the current cut-off timing for allowing vehicular movement is 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM from the Kargil side, and 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM from the Ganderbal side.
The Div Com directed District Administration Ganderbal to provide necessary accommodation to stranded passengers in case of snowfall, road closure, or any untoward incident.
The RTO Kashmir and SSP Rural were instructed to ensure that only mechanically fit vehicles ply on the route. The RTO was also asked to operationalize weighing bridges along the SSG road.
Emphasizing strict adherence to Traffic Department advisories, the Div Com called for deployment of recovery cranes along the Zojila Pass and directed the MED to support BEACON with additional machinery.
The Health Department was tasked with ensuring smooth functioning of the Sonmarg hospital and establishing medical camps as needed.
The Div Com also stressed the setting up of a joint control room comprising District Administration Ganderbal, Police, SDRF, CRPF, and other agencies for coordinated management and emergency response.
Directions were also issued to SSP Traffic and SDRF to ensure adequate deployment of personnel for smooth vehicular movement.
To facilitate movement of emergency vehicles from Kargil side, the Div Com directed for magisterial permission to the vehicles to track the vehicles.
In order to ensure effective flow of information, the Div Com directed for operationalization of distribution wireless sets among the nodal officers.
The meeting was attended by DC Ganderbal, DC Kargil, SSP Ganderbal, SSP Kargil, officers from IMD, MED, PWD (R&B), RTO Kashmir, CEO Sonamarg Development Authority, Executive Director NHIDCL Srinagar/Leh, and representatives of BSNL, Jio, and Airtel.