Army assists commuters stranded on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway

The Army on Saturday said its personnel provided assistance to a large number of stranded people on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway after it was blocked for several hours due to heavy landslide in Panthiyal area of Ramban district.

Nearly 700 vehicles with commuters plying towards Jammu got stranded for 24 hours due to the blocking of the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, on Friday, a defence spokesman said.

He said the landslides blocked the 270-km highway forcing suspension of the vehicular traffic for a long duration, leaving a large number of commuters stranded.

On receipt of the information, the Army immediately swung into action and reached the location along with a medical team, the spokesman said.

He said the stranded travelers were provided with hot tea and food. First aid was also provided by the medical team.

The passengers and the civil administration officials were deeply touched by the humane effort by the men in uniform, the spokesman added.