Mughal road opens for one-way, Poonch-Shopian, traffic after eight days closure

Mughal road, connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian, was opened for one-way traffic on Saturday after remaining closed for eight days owing to heavy snowfall, a senior official said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, traffic, Mohammad Rafiq said only Shopian bound traffic was allowed on the road from Buflaiz (Poonch) while no vehicle was permitted to ply from the opposite direction.

The road was closed for vehicular traffic on November 3 following heavy snowfall along high altitude Peer Ki Gali during which over 120 stranded passengers were evacuated to safety in a night-long rescue operation.

The road was cleared for one-way traffic after a massive snow clearance operation. Over 70 vehicles, mostly trucks, which had got struck in the snow, were allowed to move towards their destinations yesterday, the officer told PTI.

He said given the prediction of fresh snowfall from November 12 onwards, the authorities are monitoring the weather situation and had asked commuters to avoid travelling on the road during night hours.

"We have decided not to allow any vehicle from 4 pm as a precautionary measure," Rafiq said.

Mughal road, considered as an alternate link between Kashmir and rest of the country, usually remains closed during winter due to heavy snowfall.

The nearly 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country.