Scenic Mughal Road lures tourists but lack of facilities puts journey in jeopardy

SHOPIAN — The historical Mughal Road has been witnessing a huge rush of traffic these days as hundreds of tourists have been visiting the tourist spots along it every day. The 84-km long road which connects the Poonch district with Shopian at Bufliaz has been accorded national highway status three years ago.

Officials told the news agency KNO that the traffic rush has increased on the road after Jammu and Kashmir traffic authorities issued an order mentioning that empty trucks and fuel tankers would move towards Jammu from Kashmir via Mughal Road. The traffic has further increased in the past few days due to the closure of the national highway.

In the past few weeks, tourists from both the Poonch-Rajouri side and the Shopian side have been visiting Peer Ki Gali, Dubjan and other beautiful spots along the road, an official said.

The tourists visiting the area said that there is natural beauty along the road but it lacks basic facilities, especially network connectivity. Not only tourists but drivers travelling on the road said they are facing inconvenience in the absence of such facilities.

“Though travelling through Mughal Road from Shopian’s Hirpora gives you a feeling of heaven but the lack of facilities on the roadside makes the journey cumbersome,” said a traveller from Srinagar, adding, “There are no washrooms, shops and eateries along the road for kilometres due to which the people travelling on it are suffering.”

“If your vehicle has any issue, you won’t be able to rectify it as no such facility is available on the road,” said a driver, adding that travelling along this road throws one incommunicado for hours due to lack of telecommunication.

“In case of an emergency or an accident, no SOS call can be made. Hence, many avoid travelling on this road,” the driver added.

The travellers urged the government to take cognizance of the issues and provide better facilities along the road so that more tourists can visit the area. “That will also generate employment opportunities for locals and revenue for the government as well,” said a local stall owner at Peer Ki Gali.