Major highways, roads closed due to heavy rain, snowfall in J-K

The traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Leh national highways along with Mughal and Sinthan top roads was suspended on Tuesday following multiple landslides triggered by heavy rain and snow accumulation in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The high-altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir experienced fresh snowfall, while the plains were lashed by heavy overnight rain, resulting in a considerable drop in the mercury.

A traffic department official said the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed for vehicular movement on Tuesday morning due to landslides and shooting of stones at multiple locations between Udhampur and Banihal.

Road clearance agencies have been mobilised to make the road trafficable as soon as possible, the official said, adding that they are hopeful of clearing the traffic, which has been stopped at Nagrota in Jammu, by late afternoon.

The traffic on the highway is plying alternatively from the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu in view of the ongoing repair work after the arterial road suffered heavy damage following record rainfall in August-September. Traffic was scheduled to ply from Jammu to Srinagar during the day.

The 434-km Srinagar-Leh National Highway along with Mughal and Sinthan roads that provide alternative connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the country are also closed due to snow accumulation, the spokesman said.

He said people are advised not to travel till the roads are fully restored.

Officials said the Zojila pass along the Srinagar-Leh National Highway recorded six inches of snowfall.

The Peer Ki Gali along the Mughal road, connecting the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu with south Kashmir's Shopian district and the Sinthan top in Kishtwar district witnessed three to four inches of snowfall.

Reports of snowfall were also received from the upper reaches of Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch districts in the Jammu region.

The weather department has predicted improvement in the overall weather from Wednesday, with no possibility of rain or snowfall during the next fortnight.

The pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi temple atop the Trikuta Hills in Reasi district and the Machail Mata shrine in Kishtwar district remained suspended for the third day on Tuesday owing to inclement weather.

Both the pilgrimages are scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

All government and private schools remained closed for the second day across the Jammu division on Tuesday.

Udhampur in Jammu division recorded the highest rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am Tuesday at 100.2 mm, followed by 98.2 mm in Batote and 75.8 mm in Banihal, 44 mm in Katra – the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi -- and 38.6 mm in Jammu city, a spokesman of the meteorological department said.

Jammu city recorded a maximum temperature of of 21.3 degrees Celsius, 11.1 degrees below normal during this part of the season, while the minimum temperature also fell almost by six degrees to 15 degrees Celsius, the weather department said.