After heavy rains and landslides shut the Jammu-Srinagar national highway for 14 days, authorities reopened the 270-km all-weather road on Wednesday. NHAI officials built a 300-metre diversion road to restore traffic, easing movement of stranded vehicles. Other key routes, including Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag and Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri.
Representational Image. File Pic
After intense spells of rain caused floods across Jammu and Kashmir, the situation across the northern state now looks to get a lot better. The Jammu-Srinagar national highway reopened for vehicular traffic on Wednesday. The national highway connecting major cities was closed for nine days.
As reported by news agency PTI, the crucial 270-kilometre highway is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country. After being closed for almost 14 days, the commute towards the state was a serious hassle. The highway was shut because of the multiple blockages caused by heavy rains, flash floods and landslides. However, it was briefly reopened on August 30 but closed again. In total, the highway remained blocked for 14 days.
An official, while addressing the reopening of the highway, said that “The Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag and Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri roads were also reopened on Wednesday,” as cited by news agency PTI.
Another official from the National Highway Authority of India said that "works were affected by heavy intermittent rains. After resuming work on a war footing from September 7, a 300-metre diversion road was constructed, and today traffic has been restored on the highway," PTI reported.
Adding that the vehicular movement across the highways is going on smoothly after the reopening of the highway, the situation in terms of road infrastructure is now back to normal.
On September 2, a massive landslide measuring about 550 x 300 metres struck the highway near Thard-Jakheni in Udhampur district, burying the road under heavy debris, the NHAI official said.
The official from the NHAI highlighted that, "From the very night of the incident, NHAI officials and hundreds of workers laboured tirelessly through rains, mud and repeated disruptions to clear the highway. Despite challenges, the team stayed on the ground 24x7 and restored it."
Officials said that “authorities are trying to clear the highway of stranded vehicles, particularly those carrying essential supplies to Kashmir Valley, Doda and Kishtwar districts,” as cited by news agency PTI.
The pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta Hills also remained suspended for the 16th consecutive day on Wednesday.
Also, the Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri highway, which was also closed due to a landslide near Rusool Mode in the Zojila belt, has reopened.
While informing more about the smooth traffic operations across the state, the officials said, “Traffic on the inter-regional Mughal Road, which connects the Jammu region's Poonch district with Kashmir's Shopian district, is moving smoothly, while the Batote-Doda-Kishtwar road remains closed due to landslides.”
The officials further added that, “The closure of highways and other inter-regional roads to Kashmir resulted in over 4,000 vehicles getting stranded at various places in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, Ramban, the Kashmir Valley, and Punjab,” as cited by news agency PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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