Heavy downpour stalls reopening of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway

Heavy downpour again hampered the efforts of the National Highway Authority of India to restore traffic on the landslide-hit Jammu-Srinagar National Highway which remained closed for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday, officials said.

The pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills also remained suspended for the 13^th straight day, while Border Roads Organisation (BRO) restored traffic on Basohli-Bani road in Kathua district after bypassing the damaged stretch, the officials said.

“The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is still closed for vehicular movement. Restoration work is going on,” a traffic department official said, advising people not to undertake their journey on the arterial road till the restoration work is completed.

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Project Manager, Ramban sector, Shubam said heavy rains again caused disruption in the restoration efforts this morning to clear the 250-metre stretch, which remains buried under a hill, at Thard in Udhampur district.

“Explosives were used to blast giant boulders as part of efforts to ensure early restoration of the highway. Despite the rain, our men and machines are on the job but the work is going on at a slow pace,” he said.

The traffic on the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was suspended on September 2 – only two days after restoration of partial traffic to clear vehicles which had remained stranded for almost a week.

Barring the four-lane highway stretch at Thard, which is completely buried under a moving hill, the rest of the highway has been cleared for two-way traffic, the official said.

The prolonged closure of the highway, virtually for a fortnight, had left hundreds of vehicles, mostly trucks carrying horticulture produce and essential commodities, stranded on both sides.

A meteorological department spokesperson has predicted light rain or thundershowers at scattered to many places across J-K with a possibility of moderate rain or thunder showers over a few districts of the Jammu division towards late night or early morning on September 7 and 8.

The officials said the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district remained suspended. The yatra was suspended hours before a landslide triggered by heavy rains along the old track at Adhkuwari on August 26 claimed 34 lives and left 20 others injured.

Meanwhile, the BRO has restored traffic on Basohli-Bani road in Kathua district, providing relief to the stranded people.

“A portion of the road from Basohli to Bani had been washed out due to incessant rains leaving a yawning gap in the road at Tikri Morh, 47 km from Basohli. An entirely new formation had to be cut to bypass the damaged stretch of the road. This was undertaken in treacherous weather and difficult terrain with men and machines taking calculated risk,” the PRO Defence Jammu said in a post on X.

He said the link was restored, establishing connectivity to Bhaderwah in Doda district from Basohli in Kathua.

“Kudos to Sankar Tayal, OC (Officer Commanding) 69 RCC (Road Construction Company) of BRO and his team for accomplishing this difficult mission,” the defence PRO said.