Jammu-Srinagar highway restored, stranded traffic being cleared
After remaining closed for five days, the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway was restored for traffic on Friday, but authorities said only stranded vehicles will be allowed to move. Heavy snow in the Bannihal sector and rockslides in Ramban and Udhampur districts had resulted in closure of the nearly 300-kilometre long highway that is the supply lifeline for the landlocked Kashmir Valley.
Authorities said Friday afternoon that snow and rock slide debris have been removed from the highway and it has been restored for traffic.
"Only stranded vehicles will be allowed to move today and no fresh traffic will be allowed either from the Jammu or Srinagar side," an official of the traffic department said.
Over 6,000 vehicles, most of them carrying essential supplies to the valley, are stranded at different points on the highway at present.
The priority of the authorities is to decongest the highway by clearing the stranded vehicles before routine traffic is allowed on the highway.
