One-way traffic resumes on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway after two days

Jammu, January 23

One-way traffic resumed on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Thursday after remaining suspended for the past two days due to snowfall and multiple landslides in Ramban sector, a traffic department official said.

The traffic on the highway was allowed from Srinagar to Jammu this morning after the road was cleared of snow and landslide debris, he said.

The highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, was closed for traffic on Tuesday following fresh snowfall and incessant rain, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

“All the stranded vehicles were cleared last evening, paving the way for the resumption of one-way traffic,” he said, adding Jammu-bound security convoys were given priority after the resumption of traffic.

Jawahar Tunnel—the gateway to Kashmir—experienced nearly one foot of fresh snow on Tuesday, while incessant rains had triggered multiple landslides and shooting stones from the hillocks overlooking the highway between Panthiyal and Ramsu, forcing closure of the arterial road.

A youth was killed on Wednesday when his vehicle came under a landslide at Panthiyal.

In Jammu region, the minimum temperature recorded a dip for the second day on Wednesday, settling several degrees below normal.

Jammu city recorded a low of 4.5 degrees Celsius against the previous night’s 6 degrees Celsius, down by 2.5 notches from the season’s average, a spokesman of the MET office said.

The snow-bound Bhaderwah town in Doda district was the coldest recorded place in the region with a minimum of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, recording a drop of over one degree, the spokesman said.

The highway towns of Batote and Banihal in Ramban also reeled under sub-zero temperature of minus 1.5 and minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.  

He said Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district, recorded a night temperature of 4.7 degrees Celsius. PTI

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