Srinagar: The 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained closed for the second day on Wednesday due to landslides.
Meanwhile, the 86-km-long historic Mughal road and Anantnag-Kishtwar road remained closed for the past over two months due to accumulation of snow.
Hundreds of Kashmir bound vehicles, including those carrying passengers and trucks loaded with essentials, remained stranded at different places on the highway, official sources said.
Traffic on the highway was closed on Tuesday at 1000 hrs following major landslides and shooting stones at Peedah in Ramban area, they said.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), responsible for the widening and maintenance o the highway, immediately pressed into service sophisticated machines and men to put through the traffic.
However, due to continued shooting stones and landslides, road clearance operation was affected, they said. The operation to clear the landslides was going on this morning also, they said adding there is also a forecast for rain or snow on Thursday and Friday in the Jammu and Kashmir.
They said hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying passengers, are stranded at different places on other side of the Peedah.
A traffic police spokesman said this morning that efforts are going on to put through the highway. However, he said, no fresh vehicle will be allowed from Jammu or Srinagar until all the stranded vehicles are cleared when road reopens again.
He said only one-way traffic will continue to ply on the highway till further orders to avoid traffic jam as road at several places, particularly between Ramban and Ramsu was very narrow where only one vehicle can pass easily.
The historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region remained closed for the past over two months. It will take about two more months to put through road which is seen as alternative to Srinagar-Jammu highway.
