SRINAGAR : The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was reopened for traffic today, four days after landslides due to rains and snow had forced its closure.
“The Srinagar-Jammu Highway has been opened for traffic today as the road was cleared off the debris due to landslides at various places,” an official of the Traffic Control Room said.
He said one-way traffic was allowed on the highway this morning after all the stranded vehicles were allowed to proceed yesterday.
“Late yesterday, many stranded vehicles were allowed to proceed further, but only one-way traffic – from Srinagar to Jammu – was allowed today,” the official said.
Landslides at various places on Thursday had led to the closure of the nearly 300-km highway – the only all weather road link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.
The landslides were triggered by rains and snowfall witnessed across the Valley last week.
Meanwhile, the weather stayed dry across the Valley last night but the Meteorological Department has forecast isolated to scattered rains or snowfall in the state over the next 24 hours.
The night temperature in the Valley, except in the high altitude areas, settled above the freezing point with Srinagar – the summer capital of the state – registering a low of 0.9 degree Celsius – over a degree up from minus 0. 2 degree Celsius the previous night, a spokesman of the Meteorological Department here said.
He said Qazigund – the gateway town to Kashmir Valley – recorded a low of 0.8 degree Celsius – same as that of the previous night, while Kokernag town, also in south Kashmir, recorded the minimum temperature of 0.3 degree Celsius.
The famous tourist resort of Gulmarg and Pahalgam and the north Kashmir town of Kupwara were the places which witnessed sub-zero night temperature.
While, Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 9.6 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam registered the minimum of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said, adding the mercury in Kupwara town settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius.
The official said Leh town in Ladakh region registered a low of minus 15.3 degrees Celsius – down nearly eight degrees from yesterday’s minus 7.6 degrees Celsius.
He said the minimum temperature at Leh was the three year low for the month of February.
The town witnessed a low of minus 15.9 degrees Celsius on February 12, 2014.
The nearby Kargil town was the coldest recorded place in the state at minus 16.1 degrees Celsius, the official said. (AGENCIES)
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