Fresh snowfall and multiple landslides at different places on Saturday February 26 led to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 270 km, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country.
It has been closed for vehicular traffic due to landslides and hailstones at multiple places and snow accumulated around the NAVYUG tunnel. The highway is the lifeline of the Kashmir Valley and the main road link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country. Kashmir bound trucks laden with essential supplies and other vehicles pass through the highway.
The Banihal-Qazigund sector of the highway experienced snowfall while landslides and shooting of stones from the hillocks were triggered by heavy rains at Rompadi-Banihal, Shalgardh-Wagan, Moumpassi-Ramsu, Panthiyal, Digdole, Maroog, Monkey Morh, Cafeteria Morh and Mehar in Raman district.
Officials said,”A truck driver Waseem Ahmad Dar of Baramulla was injured when his vehicle was hit by a rolling boulder at Mehar around 4.30 am. Dar was enroute to Kashmir from Jammu and was rescued by a joint team of the police and civil volunteers, now his condition is stable”.
With the improvement in weather, the road-clearance agencies have pressed men and machinery to clear the debris off the highway.
Reports of snowfall ranging between a few inches to over one feet were also received from the high altitude areas of Kishtwar, Reasi, Doda, Poonch, Rajouri and Kathua district of Jammu region.
The Trikuta hills, housing the famous cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Reasi, have turned white after the fresh snowfall but the pilgrimage was going on smoothly, the officials said.
