IN what has become a recurring nightmare for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway (NH-44), long touted as the arterial road connecting the Valley to the rest of the Indian subcontinent, has again crumbled under pressure. Torrential rains earlier this week triggered a chain of flash floods and landslides in Jammu’s Ramban district, cutting it off from the rest of the union territory, stranding thousands and tragically claiming at least three lives. Once considered a feat of modern infrastructure, NH-44 now stands as a sobering testament to what happens when engineering ambition disregards ecological sensitivity and geotechnical integrity.
Flash-floods and landslides unleashed devastation across 12 villages including Seri, Banga, Panote and Khari. National Highway 44 and its adjoining link roads were buried under debris. With key areas such as Marog, Kela Morh and Trishul Morh among the worst affected, essential connectivity to Kashmir was completely severed.
The ongoing disaster is not merely a result of natural calamities. It is deeply rooted in the way NH-44 has been developed over the years. Initially, the highway served its purpose during times of lower traffic volume and simpler logistics. But with growing economic and strategic needs, the Government of India launched an ambitious project in 2011 to expand NH-44 into an all-weather, four-lane highway.
The Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, now Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel, was hailed as a marvel, bypassing avalanche prone areas and easing transit. However, problems began when work progressed into the mountainous terrain between Ramban and Banihal. This stretch, known for its fragile geology, proved to be the ultimate test and failure of engineering judgement.
The original Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) proposed vertical hill cutting to expand the highway. Shockingly, this was undertaken without comprehensive geotechnical investigations. Vertical cutting destabilised the already fragile slopes, triggering a chain of landslides and erosion events. This area, once featuring isolated vulnerable points such as Panthiyal, has now turned into an extended hazard zone, where the entire highway is susceptible to land-sliding, mud-sliding, and shooting stones.
In response to the growing crisis, the original DPR was scrapped and a new consultant was hired to produce a revised plan based on detailed geological studies. The new DPR suggested the construction of five tunnels to bypass the most unstable zones. While this was theoretically sound, its implementation faltered.
Take, for example, the Cafeteria Morh Tunnel. Built to evade a notorious slide zone, it collapsed in 2023 due to weak geological conditions and design flaws. Even the canopy structure proposed as an alternative, faced structural issues. Similar outcomes were observed in Battery Chashma, where a large chunk of the road was washed away entirely.
Moreover, in areas like Seri, slope protection measures such as rock bolting, geomats and mesh netting were wiped out in the most recent landslide. Experts now question whether these measures were executed in line with the prescribed engineering standards or not. The consistent failure of mitigation infrastructure indicates possible shortcuts or miscalculations in the latest DPRs.
As the highway has been blocked and passengers have been stuck, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself had to trek nearly six kilometres through treacherous terrain to reach Ramban and personally oversee relief efforts. Agencies including the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Jammu & Kashmir Police and the Indian Army launched extensive operations, rescuing more than 500 individuals. Yet over 200 houses and as many vehicles have suffered either partial or complete damage. Shockingly, some vehicles plunged into deep gorges and remain untraced.
While the Chief Minister claimed that within a week, the highway will be restored for one-way traffic to carry essentials but the apprehensions among the populace in the Valley are growing as essentials are being stored seeing the fragility of the highway.
Price paid for poor planning
A critical question looms: after thousands of crores have been spent on upgrading NH-44, why does the infrastructure collapse repeatedly? The reasons lie in a toxic mix of – flawed engineering design where cutting into vertical slopes were carried without stabilisation mechanisms; inadequate DPRs lacking geotechnical surveys; poor execution; no real-time audits and quality checks making the highway vulnerable to landslides. Moreover, no consideration was given to the ecological implications of large-scale excavation.
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway (NH-44) was meant to symbolise connectivity, modernity and national integration. But it has been reduced to a grim example of engineering failure and bureaucratic complacency. This road of crucial connectivity needs to be treated better than short-term fixes and be nurtured with infrastructure that reflects India’s technological ambition and foresight.
Adding insult to injury, the Public Investment Board (PIB) recently rejected a proposal for two new tunnel projects on NH-244, citing NH-44 as already offering adequate year-round connectivity. This decision seems not just misinformed but dangerously myopic in the light of recurring failures.
Alternative routes are essential, not optional. Over-dependence on NH-44, especially when it has become more fragile post-upgradation, is a strategic blunder.
Moving forward, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways must undertake a complete audit of the NH-44 project.
Here’s what must be done:
- Shift to a tunnel-based model wherever geological conditions permit. Tunnelling reduces slope-cutting, erosion, and debris flow.
- Future DPRs must be based on extensive field studies and simulations. Consultants should be empanelled based on domain-specific expertise, not merely cost considerations.
- No deviation from prescribed materials and techniques should be tolerated. Real-time surveillance and geo-technical monitoring systems must be deployed.
- Also, engineers, contractors and bureaucrats must be held accountable for lapses.
- It’s crucial to develop and maintain parallel routes such as NH-244 to ensure mobility even when NH-44 is blocked.
As of now, seven days have passed since the recent landslide and NH-44 remains blocked. The loss is not merely infrastructural. A truck driver, Kiran Sham, narrated how he had to dump over 500 chickens on the roadside to save the remainder. Many others are stranded with perishable goods and face financial ruin. The human toll is equally grim. Entire villages have been cut off, families displaced and essential supplies halted. Relief efforts are stretched thin and despite assurances from officials, full restoration may take weeks.
For years, only certain portions of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, particularly areas like Cafeteria Morh, Marog, and Panthyal were identified as critical stress points vulnerable to landslides, sinking or blockages during inclement weather. These spots were considered bottlenecks but the rest of NH-44 was seen as relatively dependable. However, recent developments have shattered that assumption. What were once localised vulnerabilities have now spread like an infection across the entire stretch of the highway. Cracks have appeared in places previously considered stable, slopes are caving in, retaining walls are giving way and the asphalt surface itself is being undermined by relentless rains and geotechnical instability.
This is not merely about traffic being halted; it is about an entire region being choked off. The highway is the singular all-weather surface lifeline for the Kashmir Valley. Its current state of disrepair means that Kashmir is functionally cut off from the rest of the country. The railway line, which could have served as an alternative, is still non-operational, leaving no parallel infrastructure to absorb the fallout.
The disruption is not just affecting stranded passengers or isolated villages; it is crippling the economy of the Valley. Essential commodities like fuel, medicines and food supplies are stuck on the other side of the mountains. Vegetable-laden trucks heading to Kashmir markets are rotting at holding areas. Industrial goods are neither coming in nor going out. Trade is paralysed and with it, the livelihoods of thousands who depend on smooth logistical flow.
The humanitarian aspect is equally grim. Patients who need immediate medical attention in Jammu or Delhi are caught in the crossfire of an infrastructural breakdown. Pilgrims, students, daily commuters and tourists are left stranded in remote hill towns with minimal amenities. Panic is beginning to set in, particularly among the lower-income sections who cannot afford to wait out the crisis in hotels or guesthouses.
In response to the escalating emergency, the Chief Minister undertook a ground visit to the affected areas, witnessing, first-hand, the magnitude of the disaster. The CM’s presence was not merely symbolic; it was a gesture of urgency, of standing with the people in their most vulnerable hour. He spoke with transporters, local residents, stranded passengers and officials and promised swift intervention and central assistance. However, words now need to be matched with action on a war-footing because the crisis is no longer seasonal or episodic. It is structural and it threatens the very notion of regional integration, economic mobility and national security.
Unless NH-44 is urgently reinforced, redesigned and equipped with intelligent disaster-resilient architecture, Kashmir may find itself increasingly isolated not by politics but by geography that has turned hostile due to long-ignored infrastructural shortcomings.
NH-44 was meant to symbolise connectivity, modernity and national integration. But today, it has become a grim illustration of engineering failure and bureaucratic complacency. The highway’s problems are not unsolvable. What’s required is the political will, engineering rigour, environmental consciousness and administrative accountability to treat the road not just as a project but as a lifeline.
The time has come for India to redefine infrastructure development not just in terms of kilometres constructed but in terms of resilience, sustainability and human safety. Until then, NH-44 will continue to haunt the dreams of engineers and devastate the lives of those who depend upon it.
The present collapse of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway is not merely a consequence of natural calamities; it is, in large part, a result of deep-seated engineering shortcomings and flawed planning choices made during its construction and widening. Over the years, the highway project has been treated as a conventional hill-road expansion task, without accounting for the complex geological character of the Pir Panjal range and the highly unstable strata that define this terrain.
Several glaring engineering loopholes have now come back to haunt the region. In many stretches, the retaining walls built to protect road embankments have proven grossly insufficient in both strength and depth. Compounding the issue is the inadequate drainage system, which allows rainwater to seep into the already loose soil, triggering massive mudslides and landslides.
The continuous maintenance that this road demands not just in terms of money but in human lives, lost business and recurring ecological harm raises a fundamental question: Is it time to rethink the entire model?
The answer lies in a long-term, strategic and tunnel-based infrastructure overhaul. Tunnel construction might seem expensive at the first glance; but in the Himalayan context, it is actually more sustainable, safer and economically sound in the long run. Unlike roads carved into shifting slopes, tunnels bypass unstable geologies, require minimal external maintenance and are largely immune to surface-level disasters like landslides and mudflows.
Take the example of the Atal Tunnel or the ongoing Zojila Tunnel project – these are not just engineering marvels; they are lifelines that remain operational even during the harshest seasons. NH-44 needs such tunnels – dozens of them – in high-risk zones to eliminate the recurring nightmare of road blockages and fatalities.
The idea is not novel; experts have recommended it for years. What is lacking is political will and the urgent prioritisation of Kashmir’s connectivity as a matter of national significance. A tunnel-based solution is not a luxury, it is a necessity, a one-time investment that can permanently stabilise Kashmir’s access to the outside world.
If NH-44 continues to rely on surface roads vulnerable to Nature’s fury, the cost of maintenance will be perpetual and so will the cycle of disruption. It is time for the nation to rise above short-term fixes and build infrastructure that reflects the technological ambition and foresight India deserves.
