Srinagar: Kashmir valley remained cut off from the rest of the country for the second day today due to heavy snowfall and landslides, forcing authorities to close the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which was partially put through yesterday to clear the stranded vehicles.
Ladakh region also remained cut off from the rest of the state since December 1 last year after the authorities closed Zojila pass while Razdan and Sadhna passes alsoremained closed, which are linking dozens of villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC).
The BEACON personnel yesterday rescued about 20 passengers, who were stranded on Tangdhar road due to snowfall.
A traffic police spokesman said here that no vehicle was allowed from Jammu or Srinagar this morning on the highway, linking the Valley with the rest of the country.
He said the highway was closed for traffic on February 3 evening following fresh snowfall. However, as the weather improved yesterday, in the afternoon vehicles, including those carrying passengers and trucks loaded with essentials were allowed to proceed towards Srinagar from Banihal, Ramban, Batote and Udhampur.
Similarly, empty trucks and oil tankers and those loaded with fruits were also allowed to move towards Jammu from Qazigund and other places.
Heavy snowfall was recorded today on both sides of the Jawahar tunnel, Banihal and Shaitan Nallah. There were also reports of shooting stones and landslides at Ramsu,Dingdoll and Penthal.
The Disaster Management team has already issued a warning of avalanches in Banihal, Jawahar tunnel and other areas during the next few days.
The Met department has already issued a warning of heavy snowfall on the highway, particularly in Pirpanchal sector from February 3 evening till February 7.
The warning further said snowfall would affect traffic on the highway.
The authorities have accordingly directed Inspector General of traffic police to monitor the situation on the highway.
He has been directed to allow traffic only when the journey on the highway is safe.(KMW News)
