Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 14: Over 1500 vehicles including majority of them load carriers remained stranded as Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was blocked at four places for more than 16 hours today.
Official sources said that due to heavy rain in Ramban and Batote areas during early hours today, the National Highway between Ramban and Banihal areas was blocked at four places. Though, due to mud slides the highway was also blocked at Kheri near Udhampur during early morning, but it was cleared before 7 am by the National Highway authorities.
The sources revealed that the movement of vehicles from Nagrota Bypass and Udhampur TCP was not allowed today for Srinagar while movement of traffic between Jammu-Batote-Doda and Kishtwar remained smooth. More than 800 vehicles were reportedly stranded at Nagrota-Sidhra Bypass, Udhampur Bypass, Dhar Road-Manwal besides Chanderkote and Ramban areas while over 700 vehicles including trucks in Banihal, Lower Munda and Qazigund area of Kashmir.
SSP, Traffic National Highway, Shakti Pathak when contacted this evening said that Jammu -Srinagar National Highway was blocked at Digdol, Panthial, Khooni Nallah and Seri area of Ramban district during early hours today. He said a large number of public transport and other vehicles have been stranded at different places like Ramban, Chanderkote, Nashri, Udhampur and Banihal.
Pathak said while road at Seri, Panthial and even at Khooni Nallah, was cleared by the Highway authorities but at Digdol, the work was still in progress even at 7 pm. He said JCBs cleared the landslides but again the shooting stones blocked the road and it has happened several times there. Even the men engaged in road clearance are facing problem there. It is expected that the road will be cleared by late this evening, he maintained.
The SSP said that Batote-Kishtwar Road was also blocked for about an hour during morning at Kandni (Thathri) but it was cleared shortly after the blockade.
The sources said that no damage or casualty was reported in the landslides and it caused a massive traffic jam on the road leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
The traffic was restored on the National Highway after Digdol as landslides were finally cleared at around 8 pm. All the stranded vehicles are being cleared from both the sides, the sources added.
They said the Mughal Road, connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, with South Kashmir’s Shopian district, was opened for two-way traffic.
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