Jammu-Srinagar highway closed, Amarnath Yatra suspended

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed on Saturday after heavy rains triggered landslides at various places along the route, also leading to suspension of the annual Amarnath Yatra.

Due to heavy rains on late Friday night, massive landslides blocked the national highway in Reasi, Ramban and at Kheri in Udhampur district of Jammu region, a senior police official told IANS here.

The landslides forced the authorities to suspend the passage of devotees to annual Amarnath Yatra towards holy cave in south Kashmir from Jammu base camp.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), that maintains the highway, has deployed men and machinery to clear the road for vehicular traffic.

"Work on clearance of landslides is going on and the highway is expected to reopen by today (Saturday) evening," the official said.

"Due to blockades along the road, there are some vehicles stranded on both sides of the highway that will be allowed to ply once the road is through," he added.