Jammu: Stranded passengers protest, demand reopening of highway

As the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for the fifth consecutive day Friday due to heavy snowfall and landslides, stranded passengers protested here urging the authorities to take immediate steps to reopen the crucial road.

The traffic on the highway -- the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country -- was suspended on January 21 as high altitude areas experienced heavy snowfall while plains were lashed by incessant rains causing landslides.

Over 200 passengers assembled at the general bus stand here and raised slogans. They urged the authorities to intensify their efforts to clear the highway or airlift them to Kashmir.

The protesters further claimed that the local shopkeepers were taking advantage of their misery and selling them commodities at exorbitant rates.