SRINAGAR: The national highway, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was closed yet again on Monday due to fresh landslides while Srinagar-Leh national highway and historic Mughal road remained closed due to accumulation of snow and slippery conditions.
Barring Razdan top, all passes in north Kashmir are open, connecting far flung and remote villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC) with their respective district and tehsil headquarters, due to less snowfall this winter as compared to previous years.
“We have suspended traffic on the highway following fresh landslides at Ramsu”, a traffic police official said.
He said the road was full of stones after a portion of hill came down. The authorities had issued avalanche warning on the highway for 24 hours on Sunday evening.
However, he said, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), have already put into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the landslides.
Traffic will be resumed only after receiving green signal from the BRO and traffic police officials posted on the spot, he added. “Since only one-way traffic was being allowed on the highway, today vehicles were to ply from Srinagar to Jammu”, the official said.
He added that Jammu bound vehicles were stopped at Banihal and Qazigund.
“We will allow these vehicles only after the landslides are cleared”, he said adding that no vehicle, including security force convoy, will be allowed for other side.
Because there is still threat of landslides besides road widening and repair work was a continuous process, it was decided to allow only one-way traffic on the highway till further orders, he said.
Traffic on the highway was resumed only on Friday after remaining suspended for about four days due to snow and landslides. There were small landslides even on Saturday and Sunday also which were removed immediately, he added.
(AGENCIES)
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