Srinagar: Only one-way traffic has been allowed on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway and authorities today allowed down convoy.
No vehicle will, however, be allowed from Jammu to Srinagar today, a traffic police official said.
He said hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying passengers and trucks loaded with fruits and empty oil and gas tankers left Srinagar and elsewhere in the valley for Jammu this morning.
All passenger vehicles besides private vehicles were also allowed to ply on the highway for the first time after about a week.
Only heavy vehicles, including State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses were being allowed to ply on the highway, linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, for the past one week to avoid any accident.
However, due to below freezing temperature at Banihal, Jawahar tunnel and Shaitan Nallah area, the road had become very slippery. But, salt was used this morning to defreeze the frozen surface of the road for smooth traffic movement.
Official said that only one-way traffic will continue on the highway for some more time. However, decision to allow both way traffic will be taken after taking into consideration the road condition and melting of snow wall on both sides of the highway at several places.
Hundreds of far flung and remote villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kashmir valley also remained cut off from their respective district and tehsil headquarters for the past two weeks due to snowfall.
People alleged that no snow clearance operation was undertaking in these villages.
A report from south Kashmir district of Kulgam said that majority inner and link roads remained under several feet of snow, affecting normal traffic and pedestrian movement.
Meanwhile, the Ladakh region remained cut off from the rest of the state after the Zojila pass on 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway was closed from December Ist last year for six winter months.
However, the state and central governments have already approved to construct a tunnel at Zojila to make it all weather road. (KMW News)
