Traffic restored on Kashmir highway, only stranded vehicles allowed

Srinagar, Apr 18: Traffic was on Sunday restored after remaining suspended for a day on Srinagar-Jammu national highway though only stranded vehicles were allowed to ply on the road, which connects Kashmir valley with rest of the world.

However, the Srinagar-Leh highway, linking Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir remained closed since January 1 this year due to accumulation of snow and avalanche while the historic 86-km-long Mughal road also remained shut since December last year.

“Traffic was restored this morning on 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway after remaining closed on Saturday due to landslides and shooting stones at several paces, including Penthal,” a traffic police officer told TNN.

Hundreds of vehicles, including the ones carrying passengers, were stranded at various places on the highway due to the closure of the highway.

However, he said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) pressed into service sophisticated machines and cleared the landslides. “Traffic was resumed after receiving a green signal from NHAI and traffic police officials posted at different places on the highway,” he said.

He said only stranded vehicles were allowed to move toward their respective destinations from both sides. “Once the stranded vehicles are cleared, fresh traffic will be allowed to ply on the highway,” he added.