ImageCourtesy: thehindu.com
One of the national highways in the state of Jammu-Kashmir that connects the two cities of Jammu and that spans over 300 km continued to remain closed for traffic for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, owing to the landslides triggered by heavy rains, leaving over 700 Kashmir-bound trucks and light passenger-vehicles stranded amidst.
No fresh movement of traffic on either side has been allowed from either side by the officials, a senior traffic police officer said. “Road has been washed away at several places due to massive landslides triggered by continuous rainfall in the state. A large stretch of road has been washed away at several places,” the officer further commented on the issue.
The highway has been closed since April 1 owing to the mass landslides accompanied by heavy rains at different places. Measures implemented for the same include men and machines of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working to clear the highway of landslides and make it accessible for vehicles.
He further stated that the efforts were on to first clear the stranded. “We are trying our best to clear the stranded vehicles first. After that, we will decide whether to allow the fresh movement of vehicles on the highway,” the official said. About 700-800 trucks and light passenger vehicles are stranded at various places at Jammu, Udhampur, Banihal, Ramban and other areas of the highway.
As a result of the blockage, more than 600 Kashmir-bound passengers are stranded at the Jammu bus stand since the past four days and are demanding that they be airlifted to Kashmir at the earliest. They have also held mass protests against the government and demanded that they be provided boarding and lodging facilities. The government has expressed huge concerns over the same.
Tags: Jammu National Highway Srinagar
