Jammu-Srinagar highway closed, Mughal Road opened for one-way traffic

Traffic on Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended today after being blocked by boulders which came rolling down from a hillock overlooking the arterial road, while Mughal road was opened for one-way traffic after remaining closed for two days due to snowfall in high altitude areas, officials said.

The nearly 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was blocked by heavy boulders near Peera in Ramban district, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) traffic, national highway, Sanjay Bhagat said, adding efforts are on to clear the highway.

No damage or casualty was reported in the incident. It caused massive traffic jam on the road leaving thousands of passengers stranded, another police official said.

He said fresh sliding hampered the efforts of the agency in clearing the highway, and they are now looking for the option to use explosives to blast the huge rocks.

"The highway might be open for traffic by late this evening," the official said.

Meanwhile, a traffic official said the Mughal Road, connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian district, was reopened for one-way traffic after remaining closed for the past two days owing to snowfall in Pir Ki Gali area.

Light vehicles were allowed to ply on the road from Shopian to Poonch, he said.