SRINAGAR: Snow clearance operation on historic 86-km-long Mughal road has been completed and traffic will be resumed on Thursday after remaining suspended for about a month due to five to seven feet of accumulation of snow.
Meanwhile, the national highway, the only road connecting Ladakh region with Kashmir valley remained closed due to accumulation of several feet of snow and slippery road conditions.
Snow clearance operation has been completed on the Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region, official sources said. Necessary repair work has also been completed, they added.
However, due to below freezing temperature during the night, the road surface was still frozen due to which it has very slippery, particularly in Pir-ki-Gali area this morning, they said, adding that now it has been decided to use salt to defreeze the frozen road surface so that traffic could be resumed.
Today traffic will be allowed from Shopian to Rajouri and Poonch provided there is no slippery conditions, they added and said first passenger Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) would be allowed on the road which remained closed since November 6 due to heavy snowfall.
The national highway, connecting Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir remained suspended on Thursday because of accumulation of several feet of snow which has frozen due to below freezing temperature.
A massive snow clearance operation continued on the highway between Sonamarg, Zojila, Captain Mode.
However, due to minus 15 to 20 temperature, particularly during the night, the road has become slippery, making snow clearance operation a little difficult.
The snow clearance operation is likely to complete soon.
The highway, the only road connecting UT Ladakh with Kashmir, remained closed for six months during winter due to below freezing temperature and accumulation of snow since November 1 every year in the past.
However, for the past few years due to efforts of the local administration and different agencies of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), highway now remains open in the month of December till there is heavy snowfall.
Decision to close traffic for winter months will have to be taken by the administration of UT Ladakh and Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir. Earlier, before the division of the state into two UTs the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, was taking decision to close the highway for winter months.
(agencies)
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