The national highway, the only all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was closed on Saturday following landslides and shooting stones, triggered by heavy rains at several places.
The Srinagar-Leh highway, linking Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir remained closed since January I this year due to accumulation of snow and avalanche while the historic 86-km-long Mughal road also remained shut since December last year.
We have suspended traffic on 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway due to landslides and shooting stones at several paces, including Penthal, on Saturday’, a traffic police official said.
He said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), responsible for the maintenance of the highway has already pressed into service machines and men to put through the highway. However, continued shooting stones has hampered road clearance operation, he added.
Traffic will be allowed to move once a green signal is received from NHAI and traffic police personnel posted at different places on the highway.
Today Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) had to ply from Srinagar to Srinagar, the traffic police official said, adding that the vehicles had to cross Zig Qazigund between 0700 hrs to 1200 hrs.
Only stranded Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) between Jawahar tunnel and Banihal will be allowed to move towards Jammu once the road reopens, he said.
