Srinagar, March 12 -- Countries, cities, towns, and villages prosper when connectivity is improved. Roads play an important part in prosperity, besides railways and airways. One of the most overlooked consequences of Kashmir's outdated road maintenance strategy is the gradual elevation of road surfaces due to repeated blacktopping. Instead of properly reconstructing roads with drainage and expansion plans, authorities simply add new layers of asphalt year after year. Over the past four to five decades, this has led to an alarming rise in road levels by nearly 2 to 3 feet in many places.

The impact on adjacent buildings-both residential and commercial-has been devastating. Homes and shops that were once at street level have now sunk below...