300 vehicles stuck as landslides block NH

Banihal/Jammu, March 23

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The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was on Tuesday closed for traffic following snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel area and multiple landslides between Banihal and Chanderkote, officials said.

Over 300 vehicles have been stranded on both sides of the highway due to the closure. The Jawahar Tunnel – the gateway to Kashmir – experienced snowfall this morning following which traffic was suspended between Banihal and Qazigund townships. They said incessant rains also lashed most parts of the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, for the third day on Tuesday, triggering landslides and shooting of stones from hillocks overlooking the highway at nearly a dozen places between Banihal and Chanderkote.

Parul Bhardwaj, DSP, Traffic, Ramban higway, said a few hundred vehicles were stranded between Nashri and Chanderkote since Monday night.

“Despite incessant rains and the lurking threat of shooting stones, the men and machinery kept the highway open and the majority of the stranded vehicles in Ramban were cleared last night itself,” he said. He said a major landslide had struck the highway overnight at Cafeteria Morh, while the road is also closed by debris at many places including Maroog, Monkey Morh, Panthiyal, Digdole, Sherbibi, Shabinbas. Once the weather improves, all out efforts would be made to ensure early restoration of the highway, the officer added. — PTI