Srinagar: No fresh vehicle was allowed today from Jammu or Srinagar as authorities have decided to clear all vehicles, stranded at different places on the 300-km-long highway since Friday evening due to heavy snowfall and slippery road conditions.
A traffic police official told that it was decided to clear all stranded vehicles, including those carrying passengers and essentials to Kashmir valley.
Similarly the vehicles, carrying tourists and other passengers besides trucks loaded with fruits and empty oil tankers and trucks, stranded at different places were also allowed to move towards their respective destinations.
Yesterday the authorities allowed more than 1600 vehicles, including 50 trucks with essentials, from Jammu after the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintainance of the highway, cleared snow and landslides on the highway.
However, due to slippery road conditions, some vehicles were stopped at different places as a precautionary measure last night. The vehicles were allowed to proceed towards the Valley this morning.
Roads leading to far-flung and remote areas, including near the Line of Control (LoC), remained closed due to heavy snowfall.
Chief Engineer, BEACON, T P S Rawat said there was now no possibility of reopening of Razdan and Sadhhna passes due to very heavy snowfall.
He said the BEACON will, however, put into service all its resources to see that both passes were reopened as soon as possible.
The Machil, Keran, Kanah, Teetwal, Neeru and other areas, particularly near the LoC, remained cut off from the rest of the state due to closure of passes and would remain so till May this year, official sources said.
They said essentials, including rice, atta, sugar, kerosene oil, diesel, LPG gas cylinders have already been stocked in these cut-off areas for the winter months. (KMW News)
