Heavy rush on Kashmir highway due to ban on civilian traffic on Sunday

Srinagar: Heavy rush of vehicles, including those carrying passengers and trucks with essentials, could be seen on Friday on the national highway, the only all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, following ban on civilian traffic twice in a week to allow free and safe movement of security force convoy.
Ban on civilian traffic movement twice in a week—Sunday and Wednesday–will be implemented from this Sunday, a traffic police official told UNI.
However, the ban on civilian traffic evoked sharp reaction from three former chief ministers Dr Farooq Abdullah his son Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti and other politicians besides traders, those associated with tourism and transporters.
Since only one-way traffic is allowed on the highway for the past about two years due to converting it into four-lane, Friday vehicles were allowed to ply from Jammu to Srinagar. No vehicle was allowed from opposite direction, official sources told UNI.
They told UNI that ban on the civilian traffic on the highway will be implemented from April 7 (Sunday). Therefore, they said, there was heavy rush of vehicles from Jammu to Srinagar Friday and traffic will be allowed from Srinagar to Jammu tomorrow.
Since no traffic will ply on Sunday the next movement of vehicles from Jammu will be on Tuesday as per one-way traffic schedule, they said adding people and truckers prefer to undertake the journey on the highway Friday instead of waiting till April 9.
There was massive traffic jam at Udhampur and other places due to heavy rush of vehicles, one Ghulam Nabi Bhat told UNI over phone. Travelling alongwith his family Mr Bhat said he left Jammu at 0500 hrs and got struck for more than two hours at Udhampur due to traffic jam. We had actually planned to travel from Jammu to Srinagar on Sunday, he said adding but due to ban they changed their travel plan.
Larger number of vehicles, carrying passengers and trucks loaded with essentials, including fresh vegetable, have left Jammu for Kashmir Friday, sources said.
Meanwhile, historic 86-km-long Mughal road, which is considered alternative to Srinagar-Jammu highway, also remained closed due to accumulation of snow from November this year. However, snow clearance operation on the road, which connects Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region, was going on war footing from both sides.