Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Apr 13: Traffic was on Tuesday restored on strategically important road, connecting the border town of Gurez and dozens of other far-flung and remote villages in Bandipora district with rest of the valley, after remaining suspended for a day due to a snow avalanche and fresh snowfall.
"Vehicles were on Tuesday allowed to ply from Bandipora to Gurez as one-way traffic was allowed on the road after clearance of snow avalanche," an official of Police Control Room (PCR), Bandipora, said over the phone on Monday.
He said only vehicles fitted with chains on tyres will be allowed on the road in view of slippery road conditions followed accumulation snow in some areas.
He said Bandipora-Gurez road was closed on Monday due to a snow avalanche and fresh snowfall on Sunday.
However, he said Border Road Organization (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the road, pressed into service sophisticated machines and put through the road for traffic.
Gurez, which is surrounded from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) from three sides, and other adjoining villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC), were on April 10 reconnected with district headquarter Bandipora in north Kashmir after remaining cutoff for about four months due to the accumulation of snow, avalanches and slippery conditions.
The authorities provide helicopter services to ferry patients and other stranded people, including students, from Gurez during these winter months. As many as 150 aspirants appearing in Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) examination were airlifted to Bandipora from Gurez by District Administration Bandipora last month. Similarly, many patients were airlifted from Gurez to Bandipora for medical treatment.
But, the people of Gurez and adjoining border villages have been demanding a tunnel near the Razdan pass so that the border area remains connected with the rest of the valley throughout the year. |
