News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu Srinagar highway

  • Amarnath Yatra: Teams to be positioned along Jammu-Srinagar NH to help pilgrims 

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Rescue teams will be deployed along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway to provide help to pilgrims during the upcoming Amarnath yatra, police said on Monday.

    The decision to deploy the rescue teams on the highway, especially in slide-prone areas, was taken at a security review meeting chaired by Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Mohita Sharma, a police spokesman said.

    It was also decided that sufficient manpower will be deployed in advance so that the base camps and routes of the yatra are secured and checked at the earliest.

    The 43-day-long Amarnath yatra is scheduled to start on June 30 from the twin routes – traditional 48-km Nunwan in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal — after a hiatus of two years owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

    Addressing the meeting, the SP Ramban called for an effective mechanism and planning for smooth and peaceful conduct of the yatra.

    Sharma asked officers to focus on sensitive locations and base camps while putting in place security arrangements.

    “The coordination mechanisms and communication systems must be established among counterparts of all stakeholders of the Army, Central Armed Police Forces, police and civil administration,” the SP added. 

  • Snowfall, landslides shut J-K highway, 300 vehicles stranded

    By PTI
    BANIHAL/JAMMU: The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed for traffic on Tuesday following snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel area and multiple landslides between Banihal and Chanderkote, officials said.

    Over 300 vehicles have been stranded on both sides of the highway due to the closure.

    The Jawahar Tunnel-the gateway to Kashmir-experienced snowfall this morning following which traffic was suspended between Banihal and Qazigund townships, the officials said.

    They said incessant rains also lashed most parts of the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, for the third day on Tuesday, triggering landslides and shooting of stones from hillocks overlooking the highway at nearly a dozen places between Banihal and Chanderkote.

    Deputy Superintendent of Police Traffic (National Highway Ramban), Parul Bhardwaj said a few hundred vehicles were stranded on the highway between Nashri and Chanderkote since Monday night.

    Despite incessant rains and the lurking threat of shooting stones, the men and machinery kept the highway open and the majority of the stranded vehicles in Ramban were cleared last night itself,” he told PTI.

    He said a major landslide had struck the highway overnight at Cafeteria Morh, while the road is also closed by debris at many places including Maroog, Monkey Morh, Panthiyal, Digdole, Sherbibi, Shabinbas.

    Once the weather improves, all out efforts would be made to ensure early restoration of the highway, the officer said.

    Officials said reports of snowfall were also received from other high altitude areas including Peer Ki Gali along Mughal Road connecting the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region with Shopian in south Kashmir.

    The Mughal road was closed for traffic in December and is expected to be thrown open on completion of the snow clearance operation in the first or second week of next month, they said.

    They said snowfall was also recorded in the upper reaches of Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts, while Jammu city was lashed by overnight rains, resulting in a drop in the temperature.

    The minimum temperature in Jammu city settled at 14.9 degrees Celsius against the 16.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, a spokesman of the Meteorological department said.

  • Jammu-Srinagar NH closed for third day; over 250 stranded vehicles cleared

    By PTI
    JAMMU: The Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for the third consecutive day on Tuesday following heavy snowfall and multiple landslides, even as over 250 stranded vehicles, mostly carrying passengers, were cleared after the arterial road was briefly opened for one-way traffic between Banihal and Qazigund, officials said.

    The 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed for traffic on Saturday night after Jawahar Tunnel, the gateway to Kashmir, experienced snowfall that left over 4,500 vehicles, mostly trucks stranded on either side.

    With no let up in the snow in and around Jawahar Tunnel coupled with multiple landslides, mudslides and shooting of stones from the hillocks overlooking the highway at various places between Samroli and Banihal, the strategic road was closed for vehicular traffic since Sunday, the officials said.

    However, they said over 100 Jammu-bound trucks were cleared from Jawahar Tunnel area after the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) managed to clear the road of over three feet of accumulated snow on Monday evening.

    Over 250 passenger vehicles and dozens of trucks carrying essential commodities to Kashmir valley were also cleared before the traffic was again halted at around 8 pm on Monday, the officials said, adding all the vehicles reached their destination safely.

    Dozens of passengers, including three cancer patients, were provided food and shelter by the local residents of Tathaar-Nowgam village of Banihal before they were allowed to move towards their destination by the authorities.

    The officials said a mud-slide which had struck the highway near Samroli in Udhampur district due to overnight rains was cleared around 2 pm Tuesday, thus paving the way for resumption of traffic on Jammu-Kishtwar-Doda highway.

    Despite inclement weather, they said the road clearance agencies concerned are working to ensure early reopening of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

    “The highway is blocked at multiple locations, especially between Panthiyal to Ramsu, due to land and mudslides along with heavy accumulation of snow in Jawahar Tunnel-Qazigund stretch.

    Efforts are on to restore the highway as soon as possible,” a traffic department official said.

    He said there are over 4,500 vehicles, mostly trucks, stranded on either side of the highway and these vehicles would be cleared first before allowing fresh traffic after the restoration of traffic.

    The Meteorological department has predicted improvement in the weather from Wednesday morning.

    “The prevailing weather condition is likely to continue till late tonight or early tomorrow (Wednesday).

    We are expecting a significant improvement in weather from Wednesday across J&K,” a spokesman of the MeT department said, predicting cold wave conditions from January 7.

    Meanwhile, Jammu and other plains were lashed by heavy rains, while high altitude areas in the region experienced intermittent snowfall for the third day on Tuesday.

    Jammu recorded 32.4 mm of rains during the past 24 hours ending 8.30 am Tuesday, the spokesman said, adding the city recorded a minimum of 11.9 degrees Celsius which was 4.6 degrees above normal during this part of the season.

    Bhaderwah in Doda ditrict, Banihal and Batote in Ramban district experienced 4 cm, 3.2 cm and 0.5 cm of snowfall during the same period, the spokesman said.