Srinagar: Due to continued closure of the national highway, the only road connecting Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir since January Ist due to accumulation of snow and avalanche, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Pawan Hans helicopter airlifted 452 passengers between Leh, Srinagar, Jammu and Chandigarh.
Traffic on the highway was suspended on January Ist this year due to accumulation of over ten feet of snow and avalanches between Sonamarg –Zojila-Meenmarg and Drass the second coldest place in the world after Siberia.
The project Beacon put into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the snow in the month of February. However, Beacon had cleared the snow and declared the highway open on February 28 only to suspend traffic again after few hours due to fresh snowfall and avalanches.Traffic to Sonamarg was also suspended due to snowfall. However, traffic was allowed from Srinagar to tourist resort of Sonamarg on the highway after remaining suspended for about a week.
The Beacon personnel are on job to put through the highway.
To airlift the stranded passengers IAF and other airlines operated aircrafts and helicopters between UT Ladakh—Leh and Kargil—and Srinagar, Jammu and Chandigarh .
Several thousand stranded passengers, including patients, were airlifted since the highway was closed.
Chief Coordinator Kargil Courier Service Er Aamir Ali told UNI that 31 passengers were airlifted from Kargil to Srinagar while 68 from Srinagar to Kargil, in two sorties of AN-32 Aircraft and 4 passengers from Chandigarh to Kargil.
In addition to this, 138 passengers were airlifted from Srinagar to Leh and 194 passengers from Jammu to Leh, in two sorties each of C-130 Hercules Aircraft.
In addition to this 6 passengers including 2 patients were airlifted from Kargil to Srinagar and 8 passengers including 1 infant from Srinagar to Kargil, in Mi-172 helicopter of Pawan Hans.
He said on Friday over 510 passengers were airlifted between UT Ladakh and Jammu and Srinagar.
