The 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh National Highway, connecting Ladakh with Kashmir, and historic Mughal road remained closed for the fourth successive day on Tuesday due to slippery road conditions and accumulation of snow.
However, hundreds of vehicles left Srinagar for Jammu as the only one-way traffic continued on the national highway, connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, due to bad road conditions.
“Traffic remained suspended for the fourth successive day on Tuesday on the 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway following the accumulation of snow at Sonamarg, Zojila pass, Meenmarg and Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia,” a traffic police official told UNI.
He said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, has pressed into service sophisticated machines to clear the snow. However, traffic will resume once the snow is cleared from the highway.
Meanwhile, he said, “Today, traffic will ply from Srinagar to Jammu and no vehicle, including security force convoy, would be allowed from the opposite direction.”
He said Jammu-bound Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) will have to cross Zig in Qazigund between 0700 hrs to 1200 hrs. “No vehicle will be allowed after cut off timing,” he said, adding Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) will be allowed from Udhampur to Srinagar. The traffic on the 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway was resumed on Monday afternoon after remaining closed for morning hours due to snowfall and landslides.
The traffic spokesman said traffic on Mughal road, which is seen as an alternative to Srinagar-Jammu national highway, remained suspended for the fourth day on Tuesday following the accumulation of snow. “The road has become slippery due to snowfall,” he said, adding the road clearance operation is almost complete.
He said traffic will be resumed only after there is an improvement in the weather and road become safe for the journey.