| Snow clearance operation continues on Sgr-Leh highway, Kashmir road through | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Feb 24 Snow clearance operation was going on a war footing from this side of the Zojila pass on Srinagar-Leh national highway, which remained closed for the past about three months due to accumulation of about ten feet of snow and avalanche threat.
Despite major improvement in weather, only one-way traffic will continue on national highway, the all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, and today, vehicles will ply from Srinagar to Jammu.
The historic 86-km-long Mughal and Anantnag-Kishtwar roads remained closed due to accumulation of snow for the past about three months.
Official sources said that snow clearance operation on 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway from this Sonamarg in central Kashmir district of Ganderbal was going on a war footing. However, snow clearance operation from Drass side in Ladakh region was yet to start.
They said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has pressed into service sophisticated snow cutters and other machines besides men to clear the snow on the road. Snow clearance operation from Gaganger to Sonamarg, a famed tourist resort on the highway, has almost been completed. The operation will complete by Monday evening, they said.
The next task will be to clear the snow from Sonamarg to Zero Point (Zojila), they said, adding if everything goes normally, this portion of the road will also be cleared within one week. The snow clearance operation has been started a month earlier this year due to good weather on the highway, the only road connecting Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir.
The Centre has already approved construction of two tunnels at Gagangeer and Zojila to make the Srinagar-Leh highway all weather road.
The historic Mughal road, linking Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region, remained closed due to accumulation of huge snow on the highway, particularly Pir-ki-Gali. There are also threat of avalanches on the road, which is seen as alternative to Srinagar-Jammu highway. The Anantnag to Kishtwar road also remained closed due to snow accumulation.
The Srinagar-Jammu national highway was through for one-way traffic, a traffic police official said on Monday. He said today, traffic will ply from Srinagar to Jammu and no vehicle will be allowed from opposite directions.
However, Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) will have to cross Qazigund before 1300 hrs and Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) will be allowed in the afternoon. |
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