Srinagar: Hundreds of vehicles, including oil tankers and trucks, left for Jammu after remaining stranded in the Kashmir valley for the past about 10 days following closure of highway due to landslides and washing away of road at several places.
Large number of vehicles, carrying passengers, also left for Jammu this morning though hundreds of stranded passengers were recently airlifted.
Only one-way traffic will continue on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, till further orders, a traffic police official told UNI.
He said today all vehicles, including oil tanker and trucks, besides carrying passengers were allowed to ply from Srinagar to Jammu. However, he said all vehicles had to cross Qazigund before 1300 hrs as it has been decided not to allow any vehicle after the deadline.
No vehicles will be allowed from Jammu to Srinagar at any cost to avoid any traffic jam and accident, he said.
Hundreds of empty trucks and oil tankers, which were stranded at Qazigund, Anantnag and other places on this side of the Jawahar tunnel for the past about 10 days left for Jammu this morning.
However, the truckers alleged that besides financial loss they faced lot of problem due to non availability of essentials and water.
Meawnile, traffic official said that all Kashmir bound stranded vehicles, including trucks carrying essentials and oil tankers, were cleared on the highway yesterday.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintainance of the highway and National High Authority of India (NHAI) are working round the clock to put through the highway for both ways, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country.
He said that normal two-way traffic on the highway will be resumed only after receiving green signal from BRO and traffic police officials posted at different places.
Traffic on the highway remained disrupted frequently since first major snowfall on January 6. However, despite putting all out efforts by BRO, only one-way traffic was restored on the highway.
Night Temp Improves Further
The temperature during the night has further improved and settled above normal at majority of the places in Kashmir valley though chill during the day has intensified due to cloudy skies, coupled with ice cold winds.
However Gulmarg was the coldest place in the region at minus 4.5 degree, followed by Leh, where mercury settled at minus 2.6 degree.
A Met department spokesperson told UNI that light rain and snow would occur at isolated places during the next 24 hours in the state.
The night temperature at Leh improved and settled at minus 2.6 degree, against minus 5 degree recorded yesterday. He said that sky will be partly cloudy during the next 24 hours in Leh, where maximum and minimum temperatures will be 5 degree and minus 7 degree.
Even though there was an improvement of about 2 degree from yesterday at Gulmarg, about 55 km from here in north Kashmir, it was still the coldest place in the region at minus 4.5 degree, which is about 2 degree below normal.
The night temperature in the summer capital, Srinagar also witnessed some improvement though it was still slightly below normal. Meanwhile, people woke up to yet another chilly morning due to cloudy skies, coupled with ice cold winds in Srinagar. Against 2.6 degree recorded yesterday, the night temperature was 3.7 degree. Yesterday, the maximum temperature recorded in Srinagar was a degree below normal.
The spokesperson told UNI that sky will be partly cloudy during the next 24 hours in Srinagar, where maximum and minimum temperatures will be 13 degree and 2 degree.
The night temperature at Qazigund, gateway to the Kashmir Valley, on the 300-km-long national highway, where one-way traffic was today allowed from Srinagar to Jammu, also surged 2 degree from yesterday and settled at 2.8 degree, which is about a degree above normal.
World famous health resort of Pahalgam, which is about 100 km from here in south Kashmir, also witnessed an improvement in the night temperature and settled slightly above normal. Against minus 1.8 degree recorded yesterday, the night temperature in the health resort was minus 0.6 degree.
The mercury at another health resort of Kokernag and Kupwara in north Kashmir also witnessed some improvement. Against 1.3 degree recorded yesterday at Kokernag, the night temperature was 2.8 degree while the mercury at Kupwara surged and settled at 2.2 degree, against 1.8 degree recorded yesterday.
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