Traffic Restored On Banihal Highway After 4 Day Closure

Landslide blocks Mughal Road

Jammu- Two-way traffic resumed on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Saturday after remaining suspended for four days due to landslides, officials said.

There was, however, a fresh landslide which blocked Mughal Road an alternate surface link connecting Kashmir with Jammu.

Hundreds of vehicles stranded on the national highway since Tuesday evening were cleared after landslide debris was removed in Samroli area of Udhampur district late Friday evening, the officials said.

“Fresh traffic was allowed from both sides (Jammu and Srinagar) this morning and is moving smoothly,” a traffic department official said.

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The highway was blocked at nearly three dozen places by landslides and mudslides, mostly in Ramban and Udhampur districts, on Tuesday evening following incessant rains, leaving over 2,000 vehicles, mostly trucks, stranded.

All stranded vehicles were cleared during the night hours, paving the way for resumption of normal traffic movement, the official said, adding that road clearance work is in progress at many places.

He said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) was also undertaking repair work of the steel tunnel at Panthiyal which was damaged by shooting stones from the hillock overlooking the highway.

“The repair work, necessary to safeguard the lives of commuters from shooting stones, is being done between 0430 hours and 0800 hours daily,” the official said.

The official further said the Mughal Road, connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Shopian district, was blocked by a landslide at Mansar Morh near Peer Ki Gali in the early hours of Saturday.

Men and machinery have been moved to the landslide-hit area, and efforts are on to make the road traffic-worthy, he said.

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