Traffic on Jammu-Srinagar highway suspended due to inclement weather

Jammu, March 20

The traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was suspended on Wednesday as the high-altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir experienced fresh snow, while the plains were lashed by incessant rain, officials said.

All the traffic, which was allowed from Jammu to Srinagar on Wednesday morning, was stopped at Udhampur due to lurking threat of landslides, especially in the problematic zone of Panthiyal and Ramsu in Ramban district, a Traffic Department official said.

He said light snow was going on at Jawahar Tunnel, while the rest of the highway was lashed by incessant rain since Tuesday night.

“Intermittent shooting of stones from the hillock overlooking the highway was also reported near Panthiyal since morning, rendering the road unsafe,” the official said.

Authorities are monitoring the situation and a decision to allow the traffic would be taken once the weather improved and the road is cleared of the debris, he said.

The traffic on the 270-km highway plies alternatively from the twin capitals of Jammu and Srinagar in view of the ongoing work on the four-laning project.

The officials said about four inches of snow had accumulated on the ground at Jawahar Tunnel and its peripheral areas which along with other high-altitude areas witnessed fresh snow since Tuesday night.

The snow was reported from almost all high-altitude areas while the plains, including Jammu, were lashed by rain, resulting in considerable drop in the mercury, they said.

The weatherman has predicted light to moderate snow in the higher reaches and rains in the plains during the day with very light rain at a few places on Thursday.

Banihal town along the highway received the highest 17.7 mm of rain during the past 24 hours ending at 0830 hours on Wednesday, while Jammu received a rain of 12.8 mm during the same period, a spokesman at the weather office said.

The night temperature in Jammu fell by 1.2 notches to settle at 12.4 degrees Celsius, he said. PTI