J-K highway reopened after remaining closed for four days

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was reopened for traffic on Monday, four days after landslides and snowfall at several places led to its closure that leftover 4,000 vehicles stranded, officials said. "Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has been thrown open for traffic at 1000 hours after the muck left behind by the landslides and snowfall was cleared off," an official of the Traffic Control Room said.

The official said only stranded vehicles, numbering over 4,000 will be cleared and no fresh traffic will be allowed from the two sides. Landslides and snowfall had occurred at some places between Ramban and Panthal areas and Patnitop belts along the nearly 300-km long highway, forcing the closure of the road since last Thursday.

The authorities had pressed men and machinery into service who managed to clear off the muck, boulders, and snow from the road on Sunday, making the highway motorable. A Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of CRPF and his driver were killed and another critically injured when their vehicle was caught in a landslide along the highway in Ramban district on Sunday, officials said.

The landslide struck the CRPF personnel near Khooni Nallah while the DIG, North Kashmir, Shalinder Kumar Singh was moving along with his escort towards the valley, officials had said.

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