Traffic on Srinagar-Jammu highway disrupted due to protests, Mughal road closed

Srinagar, Jan 16 : Traffic on the National Highway, connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was disrupted on Tuesday for about an hour due to protests in Qazigund, official sources said.
Heavy vehicles would continue to ply from one side only while Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) from both Srinagar and Jammu.

However, traffic on the National Highway, linking Ladakh region with the Valley and historic Mughal road remained closed due to slippery road condition and accumulation of snow.

Interestingly, the roads to far-flung and remote areas, including near the Line of Control (LoC) are open due to less snowfall this winter so far. These roads were remaining closed during this period of the winter in the past.

Official sources said hundreds of people, including women, hit the streets at Ujroo Qazigund, gateway of Kashmir on the highway, against frequent and unscheduled power cuts.
Raising slogans against the Power Development Department (PDD), the agitators blocked the highway due to which hundreds of vehicles got stranded on both sides.
However, it was only senior civil and police officials intervened and assured the agitators to take the matter with PDD authorities for properly power supply as per schedule, the agitators left and traffic was restored. It took another an hour to clear the traffic, they said.

A traffic police official told UNI that it has been decided that heavy vehicles will continue to ply from one side only on the highway till further orders.This decision has been taken to avoid traffic jam or accident since road widening and repair is going on daily, he said.

Today heavy vehicles will ply from Srinagar to Jammu and no heavy vehicle, including security force convoy will be allowed from opposite direction, he said. However, light vehicles will ply from both sides, he said. All heavy vehicles had to cross Qazigund before 0700 hrs and Jawahar tunnel by 1230 hrs.

Similarly light vehicles have to cross Qazigund between 0700 hrs to 1400 hrs. Light vehicles had to cross Nagrota between 0600 hrs to 1000 hrs, he said.

For the first time in several years, Sadhna and Razdan tops, connecting far-flung and remote areas, including near LoC, are open for traffic during this period when 40-day-long “Chilai-Kalan”, severest period of winter was to end on January 31.

However, the 86-km-long historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch remained closed due to accumulation of snow and slippery road conditions.

Similarly, the Ladakh region remained cut off with the valley due to closure of the Zojila pass.

Updated On 1/16/2018 1:37:01 PM