SRINAGAR : Road to border town of Gurez in north Kashmir and national highway, linking the Ladakh region with Kashmir will reopen in the second week of April provided there is no more snowall, after remaining closed since December last year.
Meanwhile, only one-way traffic will continue on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway till further orders through a massive road repair work is going on to make it safe for two-way before the heavy tourist rush and Amarnath yatra, commencing in June. The historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region also remained closed due to accumulation of heavy snow.
Official sources said that fresh snowfall, particularly at Razdan pass, has delayed early reopening of Bandipora-Gurez road in north Kashmir with the result the border area, surrounded by Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) from three sides is facing acute shortage of essentials and power crisis.
Actually the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had almost cleared the snow on the Gurez road in the second week of this month as there was less snowfall this winter.
However, late snowfall had delayed reopening of the road. The BRO, who lost two of its labourers recently in north Kashmir after they were buried under a snow avalanche, has been working on war footing to put through the road in the second week of April. Deputy speaker Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, who represents Gurez constituency in the Legislative Assembly said that he was assured by the BEACON authorities that road will be put through on April 10 or 12.
However, he said, people in the border area are facing acute shortage of essentials. There are no food grains, diesel for power generators and other essentials, he alleged and said people are complaining that the ration depots of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) are locked because of no ration.
People are facing starvation, he said and demanded immediate dispatch of ration to these areas, including near the Line of Control (LoC). Mr Gurezi said there are large number of students who could not get admission in colleges in Bandipora and other areas because of closure of the road.
Demanding construction of a tunnel to make it all weather road, he alleged that majority educational institutions are without adequate teaching staff with the result students are suffering.
A traffic police official said that Ladakh region also remained cut off from Kashmir valley since December last yer though the BRO, responsible for the maintainance of this strategically important highway, has put into service sophisticated machine and men to clear the snow.
Snow clearance had been completed at major parts on the highway and we were planning to put through the road for traffic about a month earlier this year , they said adding but fresh snowfall, particularly at Zojila and Meenmarg has delayed the early reopening of the highway.
This winter there was less snowfall but fresh snowfall this month as hampered the operation to put the highway early, they said adding snow clearance operation was going on war footing. It may take a week or so to clear the snow on the highway, particularly in Zojila and other areas, they said adding it will take some more days later to repair the damaged portion of the road.
However, they said there are more than 20 snow avalanche prone spots between Baltal to Zojila which are posing a threat. We are working to make these spots safe so that there is no threat to traffic movement, they said.
Only one-way traffic on the national highway, connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country, will continue till further orders. Keeping in view the condition of road stretch between Batote and Banihal particularly, at Mandir point Patnitop, Kiker More Batote, Nashri, Dilwas, Peera and Wagan Ramso where width of the road formation has shrunk due to continuous sliding, sinking of road, vehicles from Jammu and Srinagar will continue to ply on alternative days. Traffic police said today the movement of traffic shall be allowed from Jammu towards Kashmir side only.
Hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying passengers and truck loaded with essentials left the winter capital, Jammu for Kashmir this morning. However, no traffic will be allowed from Kashmir, he said. The historic Mughal road, which is being seen as alternative to Jammu-Srinagar highway also remained closed since December last year. Snow clearance from both sides of the Pir-ki-Gali was going on to resume traffic on the highway, they said. (AGENCIES)
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