Karnah road reopens; dozens of far-flung, remote areas remain cut off in Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 15: Traffic on Kupwara to Karnah, a border town in north Kashmir, was resumed on Thursday after remaining closed for two days due to heavy snowfall.

However, dozens of far-flung and remote areas, including those near the Line of Control (LoC), remained cut off for the third successive day from their respective districts and tehsil headquarters in Kashmir due to slippery road conditions following heavy snowfall.

Official sources said dozens of roads, including border towns of Keran, Karnah, Machil, Tanghdar and Gurez were closed, following heavy snowfall on Tuesday.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of Kupwara-Karnah Road, put into service sophisticated machines and men and finally put through the road for traffic. “All stranded passengers have now left for their respective destinations,” a Police Control Room (PCR) official told UNI over the phone from Kupwara.

However, he said roads to Machil and Keran remained closed, following very heavy snowfall. Similarly, dozens of far-flung and remote areas, including those near LoC, remained cut off due to snow, he added.

Meanwhile, the road from Bandipora to border town of Gurez, surrounded by Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) from three sides, remained closed due to heavy snowfall. “About 2 feet of snow has been accumulated on the Gurez road. It will take some time for the road to be cleared for traffic,” a PCR official told UNI over the phone from Bandipora.