Srinagar- Traffic on Jammu-Srinagar, the only surface link connecting Kashmir Valley with the outside world, shall remain closed on Friday for the 4th consecutive day, officials said.
The thoroughfare remained closed due to multiple landslides triggered by incessant rains, officials said.
“Tomorrow on 24-06-2022, movement of all type of vehicles shall remain suspended on Jammu-Srinagar highway in view of major landslide near Dewal bridge which has damaged both tubes of highway road where restoration work could not be completed till today evening and will continue tomorrow also,” a traffic department official said. “Restoration work at t2 tunnel has also not been complete.”
Likewise vehicular movement from Jammu to Chenani, Patnitop, Doda, Ramban, Gool, Banihal, Srinagar and vice-versa shall also remain suspended because of closure of highway near Dewal bridge, he said.
“People are requested not to undertake any journey on Jammu- Srinagar NHW and other mentioned routes till clearance work is completed.”
Meanwhile in order to assess the ground situation that arose due to incessant rains and landslides, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Ramesh Kumar conducted an extensive tour of landslide hit areas on Highway in District Udhampur.
The Divisional Commissioner along with Deputy Commissioner Udhampur, Krittika Jyotsna, SSP Vinod Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Syed Khan, ASP Anwarul- Haq inspected the landslide spot near Toldi Nallah -Samroli stretch of Highway, where men and machinery have been deployed for expeditious clearance of road.
The Divisional Commissioner asked the executing agencies to gear up men and machinery to remove landslides from highway and ensure that the road was made traffic worthy at the earliest.
The DC apprised the Divisional Commissioner that efforts were being made to restore the Highway, officials said. She said the men and machinery were working on war footing to restore Highway and partial restoration of vehicular movement was expected within 24 hours.
The DC further added that the general public has been advised to adhere to weather advisories and plan their journey accordingly. Stranded passengers were advised to call on 01992-272727-272728 helpline numbers for any kind of assistance.
It was informed that the road clearance work on Jammu-Srinagar Highway in Ramban District has almost been completed while men and machinery was in place for clearance of stretches closed due to landslides. It is expected that the work will complete within hours.
The District Administration Ramban was providing shelter (accommodation) to passengers stranded in the district. The administration was also providing food facilities regularly.
The Mughal road was also through for traffic.
“Truckers upto ten Tyre are advised to use Mughal road from Jammu towards Srinagar and vice-versa.”
The officials said there shall be no traffic movement on every Friday on Srinagar- Sonamarg-Gumri road from either side in view of maintenance and repair on Zojila axis.
1300 Vehicles Stranded
Explosives were used to blast boulders that were hampering the ongoing restoration work on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which remained closed due to multiple landslides triggered by incessant rains for the third consecutive day on Thursday, officials said.
With improvement in weather, the restoration work at over half-a-dozen places in Udhampur and Ramban districts was speeded up in the morning as over 700 Kashmir-bound stranded vehicles, mostly trucks carrying essential commodities, were cleared, the officials said.
They said efforts are on to clear the remaining 1,300 vehicles that are stranded on the highway — the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country.
Explosives were used to blast boulders at Dewal bridge near Samroli in Udhampur district, where a huge landslide had blocked a long stretch of the road.
Udhampur Deputy Commissioner Krittika Jyotsna visited the landslide-hit area to review the situation, the officials said, adding the restoration work might stretch till Friday afternoon given the massive debris.
Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam, who is also personally monitoring the road clearance operations, said 25 out of the around 30 areas hit by landslides and mudslides on the highway were cleared on Wednesday itself.
The highway was blocked on Tuesday evening due to landslides, mudslides and shooting stones at 33 places in Ramban and Udhampur districts.
A 150-feet-long road stretch and an under-construction bridge on the highway were also washed away due to flash floods.
The Mughal road, another link connecting the twin Poonch-Rajouri districts of Jammu region with South Kashmir’s Shopian district, was also cleared for traffic after remaining closed for two days.
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