Traffic movement on the Jammu- Srinagar National Highway was disrupted twice today after accidents, involving six vehicles, at the Chenani-Nashri tunnel and at Peerah in Ramban district.
Vehicular movement on the nearly 300-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir to the rest of the country, came to a standstill for several hours, resulting in massive traffic jams, officials said.
Traffic on the highway was restricted to one-way after it opened on Thursday. It was closed from December 11 to 13 due to heavy snowfall and landslides at several places, shooting stones and accumulation of snow at the Qazigund-Jawahar and Banihal-Jawahar tunnel sectors.
Only Srinagar-bound vehicles were allowed from here today. Traffic plies alternatively from Kashmir and Jammu.
In the first accident, three trucks collided with each other near Peerah in Ramban district. It took around an hour to restore traffic, officials said.
Within minutes after traffic was restored in Peerah, they said another accident, involving three more vehicles, took place at the Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, leaving one person injured.
The officials said that the accident resulted in massive traffic jams between Samroli and Jakheni, and it took several hours to restore vehicular movement.
Keeping in view the condition of the road, especially between the Jawahar Tunnel and Ramban, coupled with narrow width at some places, only one-way traffic is feasible on the highway, a traffic department spokesman said.
No movement of any sort of vehicle, including convoys of the army and other security forces, were allowed from Srinagar to Jammu to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the road, he said.
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