Sadhna top, Phirkiyan, Z-Gali reopens, Razdan pass still closed in Kashmir
Srinagar, Feb 18: The Sadhna top, Phirkiyan and Z-Gali, connecting dozens of village, including those near the Line of Control (LoC), besides, Keran, Karnah and Tangdhar reopened again after remaining closed for about a week due to snowfall, while the road connecting Bandipora with border town of Gurez remained shut.
The Sadhna top, which links border town of Tangdhar and dozens of other far-flung and remote villages with their district headquarters Kupwara, reopened for traffic again today, a Police Control Room (PCR) official told UNI from Kupwara over phone.
He said the strategically important road was closed due to fresh snowfall last week. However, he said, this time there was less snowfall as compared to previous years. He said people travelling by road have been advised to take extra precautions following avalanche warning in the area issued last evening for next 24 hrs. Eleven people, including an officer of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), were killed in a snow avalanche at Sadhna top in the first week of January.
He said Phirkiyan and Z-Gali, connecting dozens of remote villages, including those near LoC, were also thrown open for traffic.
This time there was less snowfall during the winter, he said, adding that traffic is now plying from both sides.
However, the road linking Bandipora with border town of Gurez, surrounded by Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) from three sides, remained closed. There is several feet snow accumulated on Razdan top, a PCR official told UNI from Bandipora on Sunday.
The road, which is also slippery, is likely to reopen in March or April, he said.