SRINAGAR : The Kashmir valley remained cut off from the rest of the country for the second day today due to closure of the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway due to landslides and fresh snowfall.
The highway, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained closed for more than 10 days during this month, resulting in rise in the prices and shortage of essentials, particularly vegetables. For the past about three months only one-way traffic is allowed on the highway, which often remained closed due to landslides and snow.
Hundreds of vehicles, particularly trucks and oil tankers, remained stranded on both sides of the Jawahar tunnel. A traffic police official told UNI that no fresh vehicle was allowed from Jammu or Srinagar since yesterday. He said there was about one and half a feet of fresh snowfall on both sides of the Jawahar tunnel, Banihal and Shaitan Nallah and it was still snowing.
Heavy rains also triggered fresh landslides at Ramban, Ramsu and Udhampur. However, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintainance of the highway, has pressed into service sophisticated machines and men to put through the traffic. But continued rain and snow has been affecting the operation.
Traffic on the highway will be resumed only when a green signal is received from BRO and traffic police officials posted at different places. However, only stranded vehicles will be allowed first to move towards their respective destinations before allowing fresh traffic.
The highway was closed yesterday due to landslides, triggered by heavy rains, at Udhampur and Ramban and Ramsu areas. However, majority of vehicles, particularly carrying passengers, which had left Jammu on March 14 morning, reached the Kashmir valley till late in the night as there was frequent traffic jam and bad road condition.
But hundreds of vehicles, particularly trucks carrying essentials for the Kashmir valley, remained stranded at different places on the highway, including Jammu, Udhampur, Batote and Ramsu.
Truck drivers from Ramsu said there are more than 200 valley bound vehicles stranded on the highway. Vegetables and other essentials are getting damaged due to continued rain as they are stranded there for the past several days. (AGENCIES)
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