SRINAGAR: The 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was closed yet again on Friday due to landslides and shooting stones, triggered by rain.
Traffic on the highway was disrupted for several hours on Thursday also due to land and mudslides besides shooting stones. We have again stopped traffic movement on the highway since early this morning, a traffic police official said here.
He said there were fresh landslides at Panthyal and several other places in Ramban due to overnight rain. However, he said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) have rushed sophisticated machines and men to troubled spots. But, he said, the road clearance operation was being hampered due to continued landslides and shooting stones.
He said once the landslides are cleared and the green signal is received from NHAI and traffic police officials posted at several places, fresh traffic will be allowed to move only after clearing all vehicles stopped at different places yesterday.
He said as per traffic schedule for Friday, only one-way traffic was to ply on the highway subject fair weather and better road condition. Today Light Motor Vehicles and Heavy Motor Vehicles were to ply from Jammu to Srinagar. Vehicles had to cross Nagrota between 0600 hrs to 1100 hrs and Udhampur 0700 hrs to 1200 hrs, he said adding no vehicle would be allowed after the deadline. However, security forces were directed to contact Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) highway before undertaking journey on the highway.
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