Jammu, March 22 (IANS) The ancient Mughal Road that connected the Kashmir Valley to the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch of Jammu region will be reopened for regular traffic from June this year, a minister said Monday.
“The work of snow clearance is on and we are confident of opening the road in June,” Public Works Minister Ghulam Mohammad Saroori told the state legislative assembly here.

The road which traverses the high mountainous route taken by Mughal emperors to visit Kashmir is a dream project. The road will offer an alternative route to the valley.

Currently, the Kashmir Valley is connected to Jammu region and other parts of India through the 294-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway No. 1-A.

The work on the Mughal Road, that starts from Bafliaz from Jammu region’s side and lands in Shopian, covering a distance of 84 km, had started in late 1960s when Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq was the chief minister.

But the work on it picked up in 2005 when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the chief minister.

At the moment, the people of Rajouri and Poonch districts have to travel a long distance to Jammu — 240 km from Poonch and 160 km from Rajouri — and then another 294 km to reach Srinagar from Jammu.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had driven on this road Nov 26 last year and described the journey as a “dream come true”. He said that the dream of opening the old Mughal Road to connect the people on the two sides of Pir Panjal range of Himalyas, passing through the most enchantingly beautiful places like Peer Ki Gali and Mughal Sarai, was conceived by his grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.