No more Wednesday traffic curbs on J&K highway after May 13

Srinagar, May 7 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday decided to lift restrictions on civilian traffic on the Udhampur-Srinagar National Highway on Wednesdays from May 13 onwards.

"The restriction on civilian movement between Srinagar and Udhampur on NH-44 will be lifted on Wednesdays with effect from May 13. The prohibition on civilian traffic in this stretch would now be only on Sunday," an official statement said.

It said the government has been reviewing the restrictions on civilian movement on National Highway (NH-44) connecting Jammu to Srinagar with a view to balancing the security needs of security force convoys with the need for minimizing public inconvenience.

In order to ensure safe movement of these convoys, the government had prohibited civilian traffic on NH-44, between Baramulla and Udhampur, every Sunday and Wednesday, from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"These restrictions became necessary following the large movement of security forces on an unprecedented scale after the Pulwama terror attack. These forces were required both for anti-militancy operations and for conducting general elections peacefully," it said.

However, "elaborate arrangements" were made by the local administration to facilitate movement of public during the period, the statement said.

Noting the restriction on civilian movement between Srinagar and Baramulla on NH-44 was reduced only to Sunday after April 22 and completely lifted on May 2, it said that the government "is alive to the needs of citizens and has once again reviewed the requirement of security forces" to relax the restrictions.