Snow-clearance operation launched in Bhaderwah

PTI

Bhaderwah, February 27

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has launched a snow-clearance operation to reopen the Bhaderwah-Pathankot highway, officials on Tuesday said.

The highway was closed for vehicular movement on February 2 after snowfall ranging between 6 and 8 ft was recorded from Guldanda to Chattergalla pass stretch of the road.

Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh said the BRO has deployed hi-tech machinery for the snow-clearance operation in the tourist hotspots of 9,555 ft high Guldanda and 11,000 ft high Chattergalla passes.

He said even as the BRO has deployed the latest snow-clearing machines, a layer of ice on the road results in slippery conditions with mercury plummeting to minus 15 degrees Celsius in some stretches of the highway.

“The tourists are converging in large numbers to visit Guldanda meadow, but as a precautionary measure, we are allowing only four-wheel drive and vehicles whose tyres are fitted with chains,” Singh said.

The vehicles are allowed to ply up to Thanthera and the tourists are enjoying the beauty of the snow-filled meadow there.

The tourists, who have converged in large numbers to experience the snow are appreciative of the world-class road connectivity. “I came here three years back but the infrastructure has been developed in leaps and bounds since then,” Singh said.

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