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| Highway through for one-way despite threat of landslides | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Mar 6 : Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only road connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained open one way despite the threat of landslides and shooting stones.
Fresh rains during the past 24 hours has threatened landslides and shooting stones on the 300-km-long highway. A traffic police spokesman said here today that hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying passengers and trucks loaded with essentials and LPG left Jammu and other parts for the Valley this morning. He said to avoid any traffic jam on the highway, no vehicle was be allowed from Srinagar to Jammu. He said one-way traffic will continue till the weather improves and there is no threat of landslides and shooting stones. Once a green signal is received from traffic and local police personnel deployed at different places on the highway, particularly at landslides and shooting stone prone areas, normal two-way traffic would be resumed, he said adding this has been done as a precautionary measure to avoid any accident.
About a dozen persons were killed, including four members of a family, due to landslides and shooting stones on the highway during February. The highway remained frequently closed during this winters because of heavy snowfall, avalanches and landslides, resulting in shortage of essentials, particularly fresh vegetables, forcing people to use dried vegetables and fish. There was major crisis of cooking gas across the Valley, forcing people to use wood, kerosene oil and other old-time methods for cooking.
The supply of cooking gas is yet to be restored fully in the valley and even in Srinagar the ome delivery of LPG remained suspended. People had to wait in long queues to get a gas cylinder in the city.
However, there was no shortage of rice, sugar, atta and kerosene oil in major parts of the valley during winters as authorities had stored adequate stock.
People, in general, and authorities, in particular, criticised the cooking gas suppliers for failing to stock adequate LPG cylinders in the valley. The government has already decided to construct a new gas refilling plant at Anantnag and expand the only plant in south Kashmir. Several far-flung and remote areas, particularly near the Line of Control (LoC), remained cut off from the rest of the Valley, due to closure of Sadhna and Razdan passes following heavy snowfall. The government airlifted the stranded passengers and the ill from these areas during February and this month.
The Ladakh region remained cut off from the rest of the state since December 1 last year when the Zojila pass was closed for six winter months due to heavy snowfall. Several far-flung and remote areas besides other major towns also remained cut off from their district headquarters in the Ladakh region, where heavy snowfall was recorded during the past 24 hours. The stranded passengers from Kargil and adjoining areas were airlifted by Indian Air Force (IAF) from time to time to Srinagar and Jammu. |
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