During the early hours of 25th of May, a landslide hit the Jammu Srinagar National Highway, leading to a major traffic block in the area. According to officials, the landslide was triggered because of massive rainfall over the last two days.
“Given the massive debris, the restoration work will take many hours. We are on the job and are trying our best to restore the highway as soon as possible. The landslide occurred near Battery Cheshma, completely blocking the 270-km arterial road,” said Suresh Sharma, Deputy Superintendent of Police (traffic), National Highway Ramban.
Despite the restoration process having been started already, thousands of vehicles travelling to Srinagar are stranded on the highway. On the other hand, authorities withdrew Governor Satya Pal’s order to restrain the number of vehicles travelling on the national highway between Jammu and Srinagar.
The restriction of the number of civilian vehicles travelling on the highway was passed on the 7th of May because of security reasons. In an attempt to protect the security of the civilians after the Pulwama attacks, the State administration reduced the number of vehicles travelling on the highway. While imposing the restriction, the administration also banned traffic from Baramulla to Udhampur twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday) from 4 A.M., to 5 P.M.
“For the safety of travelers, the highway is not to be used unless declared safe for traffic. No vehicle will be allowed either from Banihal or Udhampur side,” an official said.
People can only travel in the area after contacting and taking permission from traffic control rooms around Jammu and Srinagar. Once the weather calms down, the debris will be cleared and the restoration process will begin.
Stay tuned for more updates.
