SRINAGAR:30 Dec 2017
Traffic on the national highway, linking the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, was restored after disruption for several hours on Saturday due to fresh landslides.
Meanwhile, the national highway, connecting Ladakh region with Kashmir and historic Mughal and dozens of other roads, including those leading to far flung and remote villages near Line of Control (LoC) remained closed.
A traffic police official said that traffic on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway was suspended following fresh landslides at Battery Cheshma. However, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) immediately put into service sophisticated machines and men and cleared the landslides.
Traffic has been restored on the highway, he said adding light vehicles are plying from both Srinagar and Jammu sides. However, today heavy vehicles will ply from Jammu to Srinagar and no heavy vehicle will be allowed from opposite direction.
Hundreds of vehicles, including trucks loaded with essentials and petrol and diesel, left different parts of the Jammu region for Kashmir.
Traffic on Srinagar-Leh national highway also remained suspended between Sonamarg to Meenmarg, including Zojila pass because of accumulation of snow and slippery road conditions due to below freezing temperature.
However, the highway remained open from border town of Kargil to Leh. The government has already introduced helicopter service from Srinagar and Jammu to Kargil.
Similarly, there is very remote chance of reopening of historic 86-km-long Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region because of snow and slippery road conditions.
Dozens of far flung and remote villages, including near LoC also remained closed in north Kashmir though authorities have launched snow clearance operation.
