The traffic on Jammu Srinagar National Highway was temporarily suspended Wednesday morning after heavy rains and snow triggered landslides at several places along the road in Ramban district.
The 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the commuters following snowing at Jawahar tunnel and incidents of sliding of rocks in Ramban sector of the highway, officials said.
It was snowing at Jawahar Tunnel, and there were rains along the highway here throughout the day, an official said.
“A snowstorm also hit Jawahar tunnel and adjoining areas, and there were incidents of shooting stones from the hillock overlooking the highway at various places between Ramban and Ramsu including at Panthyal,” a traffic police official said.
However, he claimed that most of the traffic was cleared but added that there were still some Kashmir-bound trucks and LMVs stranded at various places.
The authorities are monitoring the situation and the decision to resume traffic on the highway depends on the improvement in the weather, he said.
At the time of filing of this report the traffic, as per sources, was plying at a snail’s pace on the highway.