Bandipora ,
The 86km Bandipora-Gurez road reopened for traffic on Friday after remaining closed for four months due to accumulation of snow on the road, officials said.
The Gurez Valley with a population of over 40000 people remained cut off due to the heavy snow precipitation at the Razdan pass at an altitude of 11672 fts since December last year.
A Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official said that the summer snow clearance on the Bandipora –Gureiz road between Tragbal and Kanzelwan commenced on March 2nd amid extreme and challenging conditions.
The intermittent snowfall and the bone chilling winds at the Razdan pass made things even worse for the snow clearance team of the project Beacon, he said.
“The snow accumulation in this sector records 35 feets at places and has an average height of 15 feet.”
The official said that despite the nationwide lockdown owing to COVID-19 the Border Roads personnel continued their mission to connect the Gurez valley with the hinterland at the earliest.
“The road considered as the lifeline to Gurez valley will provide the much needed relief to the locals and the security personnel by allowing the essentials commodities and services to the region which remained cut off from last four months,” added the official.
