Excelsior Correspondent
RAMBAN, Dec 19: Three vehicles including a big tipper were buried after a massive land- slide took place at Boom near Chanderkote, resulting into blockade of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway this evening.
Official sources told the Excelsior that 4-laning highway work was in progress in Boom area. Then suddenly massive land- slide took place in which two Tata Mobile vehicles and a Dumper of the a local company, to whom Gammon India has sublet the most specialized work, were buried under the debris.
The police said Dumper driver managed to escape while two other vehicles of the company were parked at the site and no body was inside. About 60-70 mt portion of the highway was affected and movement of vehicles came to grinding halt at around 7.15 pm.
Project Director , NHAI, P K Phonsa said that there was no casualty or any body injured in the incident. He said three vehicles were still under the debris and restoration work was in progress. The police and some officials reached the site immediately after the incident. He said it will take at least four hours to restore the highway. It is hoped that by midnight the traffic will be restored, he added.
Meanwhile, the temperatures across Kashmir valley plummeted further today due to clear skies with Srinagar recording the coldest night of the season as the mercury settled at minus 6.6 degree Celsius last night.
The minimum temperature is witnessing dip from the past few days while the officials said that Srinagar recorded the second lowest night temperature in the last one decade.
Earlier in 2010, the lowest night temperature was recorded in Srinagar when mercury settled at minus 7.7 degree Celsius.
Srinagar witnessed the season’s coldest night as the mercury settled at minus 6.6 degree Celsius last night.
Deputy Director of Meteorological department (MeT), Mukhtar Ahmad, said that the night temperature would witness an increase from tomorrow, saying that on December 21-22, it would rise further as the weather would remain mainly cloudy during the period.
He said on December 21-22, there is possibility of light rains of snowfall in higher reaches, adding that as per the forecast, there is no major system till December 25-26 in J&K and Ladakh.
Gulmarg recorded a minimum of minus 9.6 degree Celsius while Pahalgam’s night temperature settled at minus 9.5 degree Celsius.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
