Bandipora: After remaining closed for over two months due to heavy snowfall in Gurez valley, the Bandipora-Gurez road was thrown open for traffic on Thursday.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that VSM DGBR Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry formally opened the road by flagging-off the first caravan of vehicles.
VSM GOC 28 Inf Div, Maj Gen Girish Kalia, Brigadier Pranav Kumar of Cdr 109 Inf Bde, Lt Col Abhishek Kumar of OC 56 RCC Beacon, ADDC Bandipora Ali Afsar Khan, SDM Gurez Mudasir, DDC member Tulail Raja Aijaz, DDC member Gurez Tasleem and other senior officers of the district were present on the occasion.
The officers invited two female siblings Maryam Mudasir and Fatima Mudasir to formally throw open the road for traffic.
Officials said that the traffic on the 85-km road stretch would be allowed in a controlled manner and the decision came as the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) completed the snow clearance operation in a record time this year.
They said that the road remained closed for about 58 days at a stretch due to heavy accumulation of snow in Gurez valley, especially at Razdan Top.
The officials said that the snow clearance started soon after the weather improved and was completed in a record time.
They said that the first convoy of vehicles was allowed as a trial run towards their destination with proper precautionary measures including the use of chains at certain places.
ADDC Ali Afsar Khan said that traffic would be allowed in a restricted and regulated manner and for restricted hours till weather improves fully and the road is not slippery.
“The road usually opens in April but this year, the road was opened early,” he said.
Khan lauded the efforts of the BRO and the MED for overtime to ensure early opening of the road.
Earlier, during road closure, the district administration put in helicopter services to different locations of Gurez to ensure evacuation of patients and other emergency situations including airlifting students who had to appear in different exams besides airlifting employees.
