SRINAGAR : The 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was put through and vehicles carrying Amarnath pilgrims are on way to Baltal and Nunwan Pahalgam base camps.
The highway is through for both ways for light vehicles. Heavy vehicles will ply from Jammu to Srinagar today, a traffic police official told. However, he said, heavy vehicles, carrying Amarnath pilgrims, will be allowed to ply from Kashmir to Jammu.
He said the highway was put through last evening after remaining closed since July 12 morning following landslides, triggered by heavy rains. However, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, immediately put into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the landslide at different places, particularly between Ramban and Ramsu.
Despite intermittent rain badly affecting the landslide clearance operations, the BRO after improvement in weather conditions, put through the highway last evening. However, only stranded vehicles, including those carrying Amarnath pilgrims, were allowed to move towards their respective destinations. But no fresh vehicle was allowed from Jammu or Srinagar yesterday. He said today, light vehicles from both Srinagar and Jammu were allowed on the highway. However, heavy vehicles, including those carrying essentials for the Kashmir valley besides pilgrims, also left Jammu for Kashmir.
He said no heavy vehicles will be allowed from Kashmir to Jammu today. But buses carrying Amarnath pilgrims, who had paid obeisance at holy Cave and were stranded here, also left for Jammu this morning.
He said historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region, was yesterday used to send Amarnath pilgrims to winter capital.
A large number of vehicles, carrying pilgrims left Shopian for Jammu yesterday after administration made proper security and other arrangements for the pilgrims. (AGENCIES)
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