DAY 3: JAMMU-SRINAGAR NH REMAINS CLOSED

OFFICIALS SAID MULTIPLE LANDSLIDES OVERNIGHT ON THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY HAS HAMPERED THE RESTORATION WORK

JAMMU: The Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for the third consecutive day on Saturday as multiple landslides overnight hampered the restoration work, officials said.

The highway was closed for traffic on Thursday after heavy rains triggersed landslides, leaving more than 3,000 Srinagar-bound vehicles stranded.

“The road clearance operation is underway at over a dozen places along the Ramban-Ramsu stretch. A major landslide had occurred overnight between Monkey Morh and Battery Cheshma and will take at least six more hours to get cleared,” deputy superintendent of police, traffic, Ajay Anand said.

He said the road stretch between Nashri and Ramban was cleared of the mudslide, while the snow clearance operation across the Jawahar Tunnel was also completed. “Multiple landslides also occurred overnight between Ramban and Banihal, including Panthiyal, Digdole, Moumpassi, Sher Bibi and Gangroo,” Anand said.

He said with the improvement in the overall weather, the clearance operation was stepped up and the highway is likely to be reopened for stranded vehicles later in the day. Meanwhile, the stranded commuters rued the slow pace of road clearance operation and basic facilities at the halting stations along the highway.

“There is shortage of earth-movers, delaying the restoration work on the highway. We are only watching one JCB working for over six hours from 11 am,” Faisal Mir, a resident of Srinagar, told PTI over phone from Ramban. “We were given a green signal for travel in Jammu and only got stranded in Ramban on way to Srinagar,” he alleged.