SRINAGAR: The 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was closed yet again on Saturday due to fresh landslides and shooting stones, triggered by rain.
“Traffic on the highway was suspended again this morning due to fresh landslides at several places in Banihal, including Hingni,” a traffic police official said.
Hundreds of Jammu-bound vehicles, including the ones carrying passengers, were stranded at various places on the highway due to the closure of the highway.
However, he said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has already pressed into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the landslides, adding continued shooting stones were hampering the operation. “Traffic will be resumed only after receiving a green signal from NHAI and traffic police officials posted at different places on the highway,” he said.
He said only one-way traffic will continue to ply on the highway till further orders on the highway as the road is very narrow and damaged at several places between Ramban and Ramsu where only one vehicle could pass easily.
Frequent closure of the highway since its expansion has been a major cause of concern for the people living in Kashmir valley, where suspension of traffic results in increase in the rates of essential commodities by any folds.
Meanwhile, despite wet weather repair work was going on war-footing after snow clearance operation was completed earlier this week on Srinagar-Leh national highway, which remained closed for the past about three months due to accumulation of about ten to 12 feet of snow and avalanche threat. The snow clearance operation was also started on the historic 86-km-long Mughal road that remained closed due to accumulation of snow for the past about three months.
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