Jammu, Feb 5:
The one-way traffic resumed on Jammu-Srinagar national highway Tuesday as authorities allowed traffic from summer capital Srinagar after remaining suspended for the past five days, an official said. The traffic was allowed to ply on the 270-km highway – the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country – from Srinagar to Jammu Tuesday morning, the official from the traffic department said. On Monday, the authorities had cleared majority of the stranded Kashmir-bound trucks despite disruption caused by a fresh landslide in the Banihal area along the highway. The official said the landslide which struck the highway at Kharpora was cleared within hours Monday evening to ensure resumption of the one-way traffic for both heavy and light motor vehicles. “The traffic is plying smoothly though the weather remains cloudy. No vehicle was allowed from the opposite direction (Jammu),” he said. The highway was closed for traffic on Thursday last following heavy snowfall around the Jawahar Tunnel — the gateway to Kashmir — and multiple landslides between Banihal to Ramban stretch. While the Srinagar-bound passenger vehicles and trucks were cleared on Saturday and Sunday, no vehicle was allowed from Srinagar towards Jammu since Thursday. The traffic on the highway usually plies from the twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu alternatively during winters. Meanwhile, the weatherman has predicted another spell of snow and rain till February 8 with major activity on February 6 and 7, which might affect the traffic on the highway once again.
