Ramban: Vehicular traffic movement, after having remained suspended for a few hours due to landslides and shooting stones triggered by heavy rains on the road between Mehar and Cafeteria Morh-Ramban stretch, was resumed on Srinagar Jammu National Highway on Monday afternoon.
However, the highway was reopened for traffic at 2 pm, the officials said.
Traffic police officials said that the movement of vehicular traffic came to a grinding halt after a huge landslide struck the highway ahead of Cafeteria Morh-Ramban and shooting stones at Mehar at around 4:30 am.
“Hundreds of vehicles from both sides remained stuck due to the closure of the road. The concerned road maintenance agency (NHAI) pressed into service its men and machinery for clearing the slide from the highway. The slide was cleared and vehicular traffic in the afternoon,” a police official informed.
Traffic officials said the road, after having remained blocked for a few hours, was opened in the afternoon for private cars, light, medium, and heavy vehicles.
The disruption of traffic on the highway has become a daily affair over the last few months due to landslides and shooting stones especially on the Mehar-Cafeteria Morh stretch and at various other places from Nashri to Banihal stretch besides traffic jams adding to the woes for the commuters and operators of the vehicles during this period.
The Mehar-Cafeteria Morh road stretch has been showing signs of damage since the hill lying below it was excavated by the company engaged by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) a few years ago, for the four-laning of the NH-44 passing below it.
However, on the recommendations of the district administration, the government had directed NHAI to realign the stretch and construct a tunnel to avoid land sliding between Mehar and Cafeteria Morh-Ramban in June 2021.
The work on the tunnel started from the Mehar side in June 2022.
Meanwhile, the highway was open and hundreds of oil, and gas tankers and load carriers carrying essential commodities were heading at a slow pace toward Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir traffic police headquarter issued a fresh advisory for Tuesday stating that subject to fair weather and better road conditions, private cars, light, and medium passenger vehicles would be allowed to ply on either side whereas heavy vehicles would be allowed to move towards Jammu from Qazigund in Kashmir after assessing the traffic situation on Tuesday.
Traffic Control Unit (TCU) Srinagar and Jammu were asked to liaise with TCU Ramban before releasing the traffic on Tuesday morning.