J&K Highway resumed for public after massive landslide

The traffic on the strategic Jammu-Srinagar National Highway resumed after remaining suspended for over seven hours due to a massive landslide in Ramban district Monday, officials said. Over 1,000 passenger vehicles and 1,500 trucks were left stranded on the 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, after a landslide blocked the arterial road at Digdol around 11 am, the officials said.

They said the concerned agency immediately pressed its men and machines into service and after the hectic seven-hour long operation, the road was cleared of the debris leading to the resumption of the traffic. The traffic on the highway plies alternatively from the twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu in view of the ongoing work on the four-laning project.

The traffic was allowed from Jammu to Srinagar this morning, but due to the landslide, over 2,200 Kashmir-bound vehicles, including 650 passenger cabs remained stranded between Udhampur to Digdol, besides over 350 light motor vehicles which left for Jammu from Banihal railway station. The officials said the stranded vehicles were allowed to move towards their destinations after the completion of the road clearance operation around 6 pm.

The decision to allow fresh traffic on the highway on Tuesday will be taken later after reviewing the situation, they said, adding that the traffic is moving smoothly at the moment.

(With inputs from agencies.)