Traffic on Jmu-Sgr highway resumes after more two days

TNN Bureau. Updated: 2/22/2017 11:17:45 AM Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar, Feb 22: Traffic on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was resumed today after remaining suspended for more than 30 hours due to landslides and fresh snowfall.

''We resumed traffic on the highway despite fresh light snowfall at Banihal,'' a traffic police official told UNI. The sky is cloudy, he said. He said hundreds of vehicles, carrying essentials and passengers, left different parts of the Jammu for Kashmir valley at 0600 hrs. However, no vehicle will be allowed from opposite direction, he said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of empty trucks and oil tankers besides trucks carrying fruit, are stranded at Qazigund and other areas on this side of the Jawhar tunnel as traffic will ply from Jammu to Srinagar today. The highway was closed on February 20 due to landslides triggered by rain at several places, including Digdol, Penthal, Batery Cheshma and Ramsu during the intervening night. However, there was fresh snowfall on the highway at Jawahar tunnel, Shaitan Nallah and Banihal yesterday, forcing authorities to suspend the traffic for the second day.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, was working on a war- footing to clear the landslides and snow on the highway. ''We have already pressed into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the landslides though there was threat of more landslides and shooting stones,'' a BRO official told UNI. He said there was about one feet of fresh snowfall at Banihal which has been cleared by afternoon yesterday. ''We have made the highway traffic worth,'' he said, adding decision to allow traffic will be taken by the traffic department.

Traffic on the highway had been frequently disrupted on the highway since January 6 after first heavy snowfall in the region. Though the BRO had been making all out efforts to keep the highway open, heavy snowfall coupled with landslides forced authorities to close the highway frequently during the past two months to avoid any accident and traffic jam.

The traffic department has later decided to allow only one-way traffic on the highway for free movement of vehicles. However, frequent closure of the highway and allowing only one-way traffic has resulted in increase in prices of essentials, particularly fresh vegetables.

Meanwhile, historic Mughal road, linking Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region remained closed. The road is seen as alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.


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