SRINAGAR : The National highway, connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained closed for the second day today owing to snowfall and slippery road conditions.
“We allowed traffic from Jammu to Srinagar this morning after the snow was cleared on the highway,” a traffic police official told.
However, he said after fresh snowfall at Patnitop, Banihal, Shaitan Nallah and both sides of the Jawahar tunnel, traffic was again suspended. Meanwhile, roads connecting dozens of villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil, Tangdhar, Keran, Karnah and Teetwal also remained closed due to heavy to very heavy snowfall.
The national highway, linking the Ladakh region with the rest of the state and Mughal road also remained closed. Traffic official said vehicle, including those carrying passengers and trucks loaded with essentials, were allowed to move towards Srinagar from different parts of Jammu this morning after the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) cleared snow on the highway.
Since only one-way is allowed on the highway for the past few weeks, no vehicle was allowed from Srinagar to Jammu. However, after some time traffic was again stopped following fresh snowfall and slipper road conditions at Patnitop.
Rainfall was also reported from areas raining between Ramsu and Ramban on the highway, he said, adding that there was also fresh snowfall at Shaitan nallah, Banihal, both sides of tunnel and Qazigund.
The road has become slippery and efforts are being made to put through the traffic, he said, adding that no fresh vehicle will be allowed from any side till all the vehicles at different locations on the highway are cleared. Meanwhile, official sources said hundreds of vehicles, majority of them empty trucks and oil tankers, are stranded at Qazigund and other places on this side of the tunnel. Similarly, large number of vehicles, including those carrying passengers for Srinagar are also stranded at Patnitop, Udhampur and other places. It has been decided to allow stranded vehicle from Jammu to proceed towards Srinagar once a green signal is received from the BRO and traffic police officials posted at different places on the highway, sources said. Roads leading to border towns of Machil, Keran, Karnah, Tangdhar, Neeru, Teetwal and dozens of other villages near LoC have been closed following one feet to two feet of fresh snowfall.
However, district authorities in the frontier district of Kupwara have pressed into service machines to clear snow on main roads in the town.
(AGENCIES)
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