| Srinagar-Leh highway reopens, stranded vehicles being cleared | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Nov 22: The 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway reopened on Thursday.
Traffic was allowed yesterday in the morning after remaining suspended for two days due to heavy snowfall and slippery road conditions. However, traffic was suspended after few hours after road again became slippery in the afternoon due to sub-zero temperature.
The highway was closed on Tuesday when over 100 vehicles, mostly Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) got stranded at Zojilla due to slippery road conditions following snow accumulation. Traffic on the national highway, connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country and historic 86-km-long Mughal road, are through for one-way traffic only.
Traffic on the national highway, the only road linking Ladakh region with Kashmir valley, was allowed today, a traffic police official said.
However, he said, only stranded vehicles are being allowed first before fresh traffic is allowed on the highway. About 100 vehicles got stranded at Zojila, he said, adding that today, stranded vehicles were being allowed to move towards their respective destinations.
Fresh vehicles will be allowed only after all stranded vehicles, mostly trucks are cleared, after reviewing the road condition in the afternoon again.
Official sources said the highway will soon be closed for winter months as the road condition is not suitable for movement of traffic. ?We can't keep the highway open under such conditions when there is a threat of accidents. Only one-way traffic is being allowed on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway to avoid any major traffic jam and accident as road widening and repair was going on at several places. On Thursday, traffic will ply from Srinagar to Jammu only and no vehicle, including security force convoy, would be allowed from opposite direction, he said, adding that HMVs will be allowed from 1400 hrs to 2400 hrs. |
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