The 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh highway, the only road linking the Ladakh region with the rest of Jammu and Kashmir, is likely to open in the first week of May. The highway was closed in December last year following heavy snowfall.
Officials of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) told GreaterKashmir that snow clearance work on the highway has been completed from bothSonamarg and Drass side.
Last year, the road was thrown open in April.
Project Beacon of the BRO is responsible for clearing theroad up to zero point near Zojilla from Sonamarg, while the Vijayak of the BROclears the road from the Kargil side.
“We have completed the snow clearance work upto zero point(Zojila) and now just the widening work is in progress, which will be done in afew days. Then the road conditions will be assessed before taking the decisionto allow traffic on the road,” captain ShubhamSood of BRO told Greater Kashmir.
Beacon officials said that Zojilla Pass, which experiencesheavy snowfall and remains shut for five months during winter, is considered tobe the most difficult and avalanche-prone terrain.
Unlike previous years, snow clearance teams faced challengesright from the starting point, with slides as high as 50ft near Hung Park,Gagangeer, said Captain Kaushal Sharma, Second in Command 122 RCC.
Meanwhile, BRO officials of ‘Project Vijayak’ said that theroad from Srinagar to Leh has been connected on either side aftertwo-month-long snow clearance operation.
Meanwhile, the 10-km Gagangeer-Sonamarg road stretch, a partof the Srinagar-Leh highway, has been thrown open up to Sonamarg on Mondayafter remaining closed for four-and-a-half months. MasratHashim, SDM Kangan,told Greater Kashmir that the road is open for light motor vehicles and trafficwill be under strict observation to avoid any inconvenience.
“The process of restoring water and electricity in Sonamargis on and the departments concerned are on job,” he said.
For now, traffic on the Gagangeer-Sonamarg stretch is allowed from 11am to 3pm only. In case of bad weather, CEO Sonamarg Development Authority, SDM and SDPO Kangan will assess the situation and decide on opening or closing the road stretch.
SHEIKH NAZIR