Kashmir remains cut off from rest of country for 3 days uninterrupted

Srinagar, Jan 18: Hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying passengers, are stranded on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, for the third day today due to very heavy snowfall.

However, some stranded vehicles on the highway were cleared yesterday when the road was put through before closing again due to fresh snowfall.

There was about five feet snowfall on the highway during the past 24 hours and traffic remained suspended, a traffic police official told UNI. However, he said, stranded vehicles on the highway, including those carrying passengers, have been taken to safer places. The highway remained closed as it was still snowing, he said, adding there was about two to five feet snow accumulated at Qazigund, Jawahar tunnel, Shaitan Nallah, Banihal and Patnitop.

He said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, have already put into service the sophisticated machines and men to put through the highway. However, due to threat of avalanche and landslides coupled with continuous snowfall, the operation to put through the highway for traffic was being hampered. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded for the past three days at several places, including Banihal, Ramban, Ramban and Batote. Traffic on the highway will be allowed only when a green signal is received from BRO and traffic police personnel deployed at several places on the highway, he said.