Vehicles stranded in Udhampur after highway closed due to bad weather

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded in Udhampur on Saturday after the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed on account of bad weather.

Earlier, on Saturday, a road connecting Tunnel 3 and 5 in the Ramban district was damaged following a landslide.

After the landslip incident, the National Highway was closed till further notice.

The 250-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country while the Mughal Road connects Bufliaz town in Jammu's Poonch district to the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, nearly 6,000 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims are stranded at Ramban due to the suspension of the ongoing pilgrimage on account of inclement weather.

The district administration said all possible steps were being taken to ensure that stranded passengers don't face any hassles.

"The Amarnath Yatra was suspended yesterday due to inclement weather. We have all the facilities available for the pilgrims here at the 'Yatri Niwas'. We are taking all possible steps to ensure that the pilgrims don't face any problems. The yatris will only be asked to resume their pilgrimage once there is an improvement in the weather and vehicular traffic between Jammu and Kashmir divisions is restored," Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam said.

The 62-day pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave, which is an abode of Lord Shiva, will culminate on August 31.