Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Nov 4: The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was opened for one-way traffic today, a day after being closed due to heavy snowfall and landslides, and over 700 stranded commuters were rescued overnight from the Jawahar Tunnel area, officials said.
The only all-weather road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was opened for traffic coming from Srinagar to Jammu after nine hours of clearance operations, SSP Traffic National Highway Shakti Pathak told the Excelsior.
He said the highway was thrown open for one-way convoy from Srinagar to Jammu at 1 PM today.
Pathak added that tomorrow there will be up convoy from Jammy to Srinagar on the highway but only Light Motor Vehicles will be allowed.
It took almost nine hours for workers to clear the road for one-way traffic, he said.
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In a major overnight rescue operation, over 700 stranded passengers were evacuated from both sides of the Jawahar tunnel, a police spokesman said.
He said they were Jammu-bound commuters and were rescued from the Kashmir-side of the tunnel and the Verinag Zing area, where more than one-feet of snow had accumulated.
“In the night-long operation, police evacuated 700 stranded passengers from the Jawahar tunnel area. Passengers stranded at either side (of the tunnel) were evacuated,” the spokesman said.
The evacuated people, including tourists, were accommodated in shelter sheds, religious places and sarais in Banihal’s Nowgam and Gund areas, and in Qazigund, he said.
In addition, 1,000 civilians, who were stuck in other parts of the highway, were also provided food and shelter in Banihal by police and the civil administration, the spokesman said.
He said stranded passengers who were evacuated from the Jawahar tunnel area and brought to Banihal late last night, were allowed to move towards Jammu today.
The 270-km highway was closed for vehicular traffic last evening after heavy snowfall in Qazigund-Jawahar tunnel sector coupled with landslides at Pantiyal, Ramsoo, Digdol and Battery Cheshma along the Banihal-Ramban stretch due to incessant rains.
While Batote-Kishtwar National Highway was through for traffic, Mughal road remained closed for fourth consecutive day today. However, snow clearance operations were in progress on Mughal road.
The police spokesman said 28 more passengers, including two truck drivers, were rescued from Drass and Ganderbal along 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway and shifted to safer places.
“Some stranded tourists were evacuated by police from the snow bound areas of Cheeni Wuder in Anantnag and Gulmarg in Baramulla districts,” he said.
They said about four-feet of snow had accumulated on the ground in Peer Ki Gali on Mughal road area over the past couple of days. Over 120 people, mostly truckers, were rescued after they got stranded in the high-altitude area on Saturday, the officials said.
“The snow clearance operation was started Sunday afternoon following improvement in the weather. We are on the job and efforts are on to ensure early restoration of the road which usually remains closed during winter owing to heavy snowfall in Peer Ki Gali area,” sources said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)Traffic Rural, Muzaffar Ahmad Shah told Excelsior that with the clearance of snow from highway this morning and improvement in weather, the Traffic Police began to clear the stranded vehicles at 11:40 am first.
The SSP Traffic said that over 160 vehicles that were stranded since last evening near Banihal Tunnel were allowed to cross the tunnel towards Jammu first. He said that this was followed by crossing over of around 800 passenger vehicles from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. “In the evening we let the trucks that are stranded at Qazigund to move ahead. So far out of 6000 stranded trucks 2000 have crossed the tunnel”, he said.
The Power Development Department, in the meantime, restored power to majority of the areas in Srinagar city and other towns but the villages are still reeling under darkness. In Srinagar city the power is playing hide and seek in certain areas and the Chief Engineer PDD Kashmir, Hashmat Qazi, said it is because of local faults.
Qazi said that the demand for power this time in Valley is 1200 MWs and the PDD is already supplying over 100 MWs today. He said that electricity supply is restored across Valley except some areas of South Kashmir districts where four towers have fallen down at Lessar, Wanpoh, Shopian and Kulgam. “Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has already deployed their men and machinery on the spot for the restoration work so that electricity supply will be restored as soon as possible”, he added.
And due to snowfall, the minimum temperatures across the Kashmir valley dropped below the freezing point today with Srinagar recording this season’s coldest night so far at minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, the MeT Department said.
The temperature in Pahalgam was minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, Gulmarg minus 5.0 degrees Celsius, Leh minus 1.5 degrees Celsius while Kargil was at minus 4.6 degrees Celsius.
A MeT official said after Saturday’s heavy snowfall in the higher reaches and mild to moderate rains in the plains of the State, the weather is expected to improve from today onwards. “Dry weather is expected in Jammu and Kashmir from Monday for two to three weeks,” he added.
Meanwhile, a nine-year-old nomadic girl was killed and four members of her family were critically injured when a landslide struck their tent in Rajouri district.
According to the reports, a Bakarwal family had set up a ‘dera’ (tent accommodation) at Chatyar village near a shrine which came under a landslide triggered by incessant rains at around 11.30 last night.
Shabina Kousar, minor daughter of Mohd Farooq of Dalohari (Rajouri) came under a big stone and died on the spot, while Mohd Farooq, his wife Raqea Begum, 15-year-old daughter, Nagina Kouser and a son namely Tariq Hussain (7) were critically injured and shifted to District Hospital Rajouri for treatment.
The nomadic family was on their bi-annual seasonal migration from the higher reaches of Kashmir to summer zone Jammu owing to early snowfall this season and had set up temporary accommodation at the site of accident.
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