Srinagar-Jammu highway shuts due to fresh landslides

Srinagar, Mar 3: The 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was closed on Wednesday due to fresh landslides, a traffic police official said on Wednesday.
He said traffic on the highway was suspended on Wednesday following fresh landslides in Ramban during the night.
However, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has pressed into service machines and men to clear the landslides and put them through the highway again. It will take several hours before the traffic is restored provided there are no fresh shooting stones, he said.
He said traffic will be resumed only when a green signal is received from NHAI and traffic police officials posted at different places on the highway.
As per traffic schedule Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) had to ply from Srinagar to Jammu today, he said adding vehicles had to pass Zig Qazigund between 0700 hrs to 1100 hrs. No vehicle will be allowed from opposite directions, he said.
However, only Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs), stranded Jawahar tunnel and Banihal for the past several days will be allowed to move towards Jammu, he said.
Security forces are advised not to ply against advisory in view of the traffic congestion on the highway, he said adding they may ply from Srinagar to Jammu.
Meanwhile, the 86-km-long historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region also remained closed since December last year due to the accumulation of snow. People living on both sides of the road, which is seen as an alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, besides Rajouri and Poonch are demanding early clearance of snow. The authorities have already announced the construction of a tunnel to make it an all weather road.
(UNI)