Excelsior Correspondent
GUMRI, May 13: Hundreds of passengers were desperately waiting in a three kilometer long queue of vehicles since morning as the 434-kilometer Srinagar-Leh National Highway, the only road connecting Kashmir valley with Ladakh region, was re-opened for vehicular traffic this afternoon after remaining closed for four months.
Mohammad Baqir who was waiting in the queue since 5 am was relieved as the Traffic police waved a green flag at Sonamarg to allow the traffic on the highway. Baqir was away from his home for last six months as road remained closed and its re-opening was humongous task this year due to heavy rains and snowfall for past two months.
Hundreds of passengers headed towards Kargil and Leh as the highway opened for traffic. Trucks and load carrying essential supplies especially fresh vegetables and chicken were also seen heading towards Zojila for their onward journey to Kargil and Leh.
Earlier, the highway was thrown open for the traffic by General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Subrata Saha, at Gumri today.
The GOC complemented the Border Roads Organization personnel on the timely opening of the road by braving adverse weather conditions in extremely difficult and risky terrain. The GOC also lauded their effort in keeping the road open for an extended period in the last season.
The highway remained open for an extended period in the last season as there was less snow. It was closed on January 12 this year. The highway was re-opened on the same day last year as this year.
The snow clearance operations, on the road where 18 to 50 feet of snow had accumulated, commenced on March 21 this year and were completed in the first week of this month. This was followed up by trials for both light and heavy vehicles to ensure that the road was fit in all respects.
Reiterating the strategic and economic importance of the highway, Lt. Gen. Saha said its importance to the tourism sector is significant as it provides land connectivity through some of the most breathtaking terrain in the nation, providing a lifetime experience to all those undertaking the journey.
The strategic highway passes through the 11,578-foot high Zojila Pass which lies on the lower depressions of the Himalayan ranges, some 107 km from Zojila.
The Pass attracts the heaviest snowfall during the winter and as such it remains closed to traffic usually for five to six months in a year.
The Chief Engineer, Beacon, Brigadier A K Das told Excelsior that this year weather posed a major challenge for the organization. He said that due to fresh snowfall the snow and avalanche clearance was re-started. “We managed to re-open the highway in the second week of May as we did last year despite freak weather”, he added.
Das said that this year the upper alignment of the highway on Zogila was re-opened first which was a major challenge. He said that weather and freezing cold posed a major challenge for his men but they accomplished the task well on time.
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