No civil traffic to be stopped on Jammu-Srinagar NH during VVIP, senior officers’ movement: Police

Srinagar, Sep 9 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir police on Saturday said no civil traffic will now be stopped on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway during the movement of VVIPs or senior officers.

This was disclosed at a high-level meeting of police officers, security forces and other intelligence agencies in Anantnag district to review the security of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and SOPs being followed by security forces during convoy movement.

The meeting, chaired by Kashmir Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Vijay Kumar, was attended by GOC Victor Force, J-K IG Traffic and other senior officers.

Kumar advised all the participating officers to conduct a joint survey of the highway viz a viz convoy movement in their area of responsibility and recommend some changes where and if possible, to modify the SOPs to maintain a smooth flow of civilian traffic during convoy movements without unnecessary hindrance.

During the meeting, it was decided that no civil traffic would be stopped on the national highway during VVIPs or senior officers’ movement as an immediate measure and also to suggest additional measures for the smooth flow of civilian traffic in a phased manner.

The move comes as a respite for the commuters on the highway who often complained about being stopped on such occasions.

The officers participating in the meeting were also advised to conduct a joint survey and prepare SOPs to facilitate the free flow of traffic without compromising the security of convoys in a phased manner.

The new SOPs would be submitted to higher up for further approval.

Besides, special focus is given to lateral entries on the national highway and additional personnel may be deployed on laterals. In order to maintain a smooth flow of vehicles, Kumar urged traffic police to deploy additional manpower on important/busy laterals.

He advised the Senior superintendents of police (SSsP) and CAPFs/Army officers to identify the spots on the highway where engineering intervention is required in raising the height of dividers, direct lateral entries and U-turn on it.

They were also advised to identify the spots where a service lane is required and also send joint recommendations where underpasses or overpasses are required to maintain the smooth flow of traffic on the highway.

The ADGP Kashmir also directed the district heads to identify the spots where additional CCTVs can be installed and to employ SHOs/SDPOs during convoy movement at vulnerable spots.

The officers were also stressed by ADGP Kashmir to discourage illegal construction and also to assist civil administration and national highways authority in removing such illegal structures on the highway.

All district Superintendents of police (SsP) were also instructed to generate specific inputs and launch anti-terrorist operations along the sides of the highway, and take legal actions against overground workers operating in these areas.