J-K Highway Opened for Stranded Vehicles

Banihal/Jammu, Jan 8 (PTI) The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was opened for stranded vehicles on Wednesday afternoon after remaining closed for the past two days due to heavy snowfall and multiple landslides in Ramban district, officials said.

However, the chopper services to and fro Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district remained suspended for the second day due to "poor visibility", they said.

With the improvement in the weather this morning, road clearance agencies cleared the highway of accumulated snow between Banihal and Jawahar Tunnel besides the landslide debris at different places along Panthiyal-Ramsu stretch, paving the way for movement of hundreds of stranded Kashmir-bound vehicles, the officials said.

The traffic on the highway was suspended on Monday evening after Jawahar Tunnel - the gateway to Kashmir - and adjoining areas including Banihal town experienced heavy snowfall. While one feet of snow was recorded in Banihal, the accumulation in Jawahar Tunnel area was over one-and-a-half feet.

The rains which lashed plains of Jammu also triggered landslides and shooting stones from hillocks overlooking the highway at Panthiyal, Digdole, Maroog and Moumpassi, blocking the only all-weather road linking the valley with rest of the country.

"The traffic is moving smoothly when last reports were received. However, the decision to allow the traffic from Srinagar or Jammu will be taken later in the day after clearance of stranded vehicles," a traffic department official said.

The traffic on the highway plies alternatively from the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu during winter months in view of the road condition and the ongoing work on the four-laning project.

Reports from Katra said the pilgrimage is going on smoothly to the shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi atop Trikuta hills despite over one-and-a-half feet snowfall.

However, the chopper services remained suspended for the second day on Wednesday due to "poor visibility" even as the downpour stopped this morning, the officials said.

The weatherman has predicted dry weather in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir till January 11 but said "another snow spell of higher intensity and distribution is most likely from January 11 night to January 14 evening."

Jammu, which was lashed by rains over the past two days, recorded a dip in the night temperature which settled at 7.7 degrees Celsius against the previous night's 9 degrees Celsius, an official of the Meteorological department said.

The highway town of Batote in Ramban district was the coldest recorded place in Jammu region with a low of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius followed by Bhaderwah in Doda district at minus 0.7 degrees Celsius, the official said.

He said Katra, the base camp for Vaishno Devi pilgrims, recorded a low of 5.3 degrees Celsius, down by 1.7 notches from the previous night.

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