Sringar-Jammu National Highway closed, train service suspended in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: The 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country was closed while the train service in the Kashmir valley was suspended yet again today due to moderate to heavy snowfall, official sources here said.
A traffic police spokesman said that no vehicle was allowed to ply on the highway as about one and a half feet snow was recorded at Jawahar tunnel, one feet at Banihal and Qazigund and six inches of snow at Patnitop.
He said there is forecast for more snowfall during the next 24 hours, particularly during the night intervening January 9 and 10.
He said today vehicles were scheduled to ply from Jammu toSrinagar. However, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintainance of the highway, has pressed into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the snow on the road.
Inpsector General of Police, Traffic, Muneer Ahmad Khan had appealed to passengers to contact Traffic Police Control Rooms established at different places, including Jammu and Srinagar before starting journey on the highway.
He said more than 3000 vehicles, which left Srinagar had reached Jammu. Besides some vehicles, including trucks carrying essentials and passengers at Banihal and Ramban area were also cleared to Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the train service was also suspended in Kashmir due to snowfall.
The track was under more than one feet of snow at Banihal in Jammu region and Qazigund in Kashmir valley, official sources said adding several inches of snowfall was also recorded in other areas in south and Central Kashmir.
Therefore the train run from Banihal in Jammu region to Baramulla in north Kashmir via Srinagar was cancelled. The rail service will be resumed only after there is improvement in the weather, they said adding that there is forecast for more heavy to very heavy snowfall during the next 24 hours.
This is for the second time the rail service in the valley was cancelled due to snowfall during the past two weeks. (AGENCIES)

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