Excelsior Correspondent
RAMBAN, Aug 22: The traffic on 270-km long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was restored today after third day of its closure in Ramban sector while a work supervisor of private construction company operating mobile lights was electrocuted and three other workers were injured when they were assisting road clearance party at Trishul Morh near Ramban last midnight.
Official sources said that as the weather improved, the NHAI, Gammon India and CPPL- a local private company launched highway restoration work on war- footing during last night. The landslides at nearly 5-6 remaining places were also cleared till morning and the traffic on the highway was restored at around 10 am today.
The highway got blocked at over a dozen places between Udhampur and Banihal on Thursday morning, leaving thousands of vehicles stranded.
“The highway was cleared for one-way traffic around 10 am on Saturday. After clearance of the stranded vehicles, the traffic was allowed from Srinagar towards Jammu,” DySP Traffic, National Highway, Ajay Anand said.
Heavy rains lashed wide parts of Jammu and Kashmir over the past three days, triggering landslides and shooting stones from hillocks overlooking the highway at Panthyal, Battery Cheshma, Monkey Morh, Mehar, Chanderkote, Sherbibi, Mom Passi, Digdole, Kela Morh, Maroog and Trishul Morh.
“After hectic efforts by road clearance agencies, the road was made trafficable this morning, but continuous shooting stones from the hills at Panthyal, Mehar and Monkey Morh caused some delay,” Anand said.
He said passenger vehicles and trucks carrying essential commodities to Kashmir were cleared on priority after restoration of the highway amid improvement in weather. “The traffic is moving smoothly and the traffic from Kashmir towards Jammu was also allowed in the afternoon,” he added.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer said that work supervisor Rohit Choudhary, son of Ram Paul Choudhary, resident of Satwari, Jammu, associated with CPPL company, operating mobile tower flood lights at the landsliding site near Trishul Morh in Ramban was trapped in the high tension wires crossing over the site along the highway when he was raising height of the tower lights at around 12.30 midnight. Three other workers ran for his rescue but they received serious electric shocks.
While Rohit (25) was killed on the spot, three injured were removed to Sub District Hospital, Ramban. They were identified as Kuldip Singh, Muzaffar Ahmed and Angrez Singh. The police has registerted a case FIR No. 140/2020 in this connection.
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