Ganderbal, Apr 3: Fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir including Zojila Pass and multiple avalanches on Wednesday delayed the reopening of the Srinagar-Leh National Highway, which continued to remain closed for the traffic movement for the fifth day on Wednesday.
The highway connecting Ladakh with Jammu and Kashmir was closed for traffic due to snowfall in the higher reaches including Zojila Pass on Saturday.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had deployed its machinery for snow clearance and an official of the BRO’s Project Beacon said that the machines were actively working to clear the snow from the road.
However, he said that multiple avalanches continuously occurred at different spots along the road for the past five days which extended the snow clearance work.
They said that though the road was connected on Wednesday, inclement weather and a fresh avalanche delayed the road reopening.
Hundreds of Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) including passenger vehicles have been stranded on both sides of the highway since Saturday.
A Traffic Police official said that the road could not be connected despite efforts of the BRO as multiple avalanches occurred on the Zojila stretch.
He said that the road would reopen for one-way traffic after road clearance and after getting a green signal from the BRO.
Meanwhile, the passengers including men, women, and children complained that they were facing inconvenience due to the road closure. They said that they were running out of money and food.