Jammu-Srinagar highway to restore on Friday: Officials

Jammu, Jun 23: The 270 km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather surface link that connects Kashmir, will likely to be re-opened for traffic resume Friday.

Officials said that the restoration work is going on war footing in view of the ensuing Amarnath Yatra, which is set to begin on June 30.

Official spokesperson said that to assess the ground situation that arose due to incessant rains and landslides, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Ramesh Kumar conducted an extensive tour of landslide hit areas on National Highway in District Udhampur.

Accompanied with Deputy Commissioner Udhampur, Krittika Jyotsna and SSP Vinod Kumar Divisional Commissioner inspected the landslide spot near Toldi Nallah -Samroli stretch of National Highway, where men and machinery have been deployed for expeditious clearance of road.

The Divisional Commissioner asked the executing agencies to gear up men and machinery to remove landslides from national highways and ensure that the road was made traffic worthy at the earliest.

The DC apprised the Divisional Commissioner that efforts were being made to restore the National Highway.

“The men and machinery were working on war footing to restore National Highway- 44  and partial restoration of vehicular movement was expected within 24 hours,” the Deputy commissioner Udhampur said.

The DC further added that the general public has been advised to adhere to weather advisories and plan their journey accordingly. Stranded passengers were advised to call on 01992-272727-272728 helpline numbers for any kind of assistance.

The road clearance work on National Highway NH44 in Ramban District has almost been completed while men and machinery was in place for clearance of stretches closed due to landslides. It is expected that the work will complete within hours.

Closed for the third consecutive day, after many stretches washed away and damaged following heavy rains in the area, government figures reveals that approximately 400 vehicles got stuck between Udhampur and Banihal, the most affected section of the highway.

The District Administration Ramban was providing shelter (accommodation) to passengers stranded in the district. The administration was also providing food facilities regularly.

The connectivity to Doda-Kishtwar also remains affected due to landslides in Sarmoli area of Udhampur.

The Mughal road was also through for traffic.