Sgr-Jmu NH closed, Mughal Road open

Banihal/ Rajouri, Sep 9: The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained closed while the Mughal Road remained open for vehicular traffic on Tuesday.

The vehicular movement on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the lifeline connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country, remained suspended for the eighth consecutive day on Tuesday, causing shortages of essential commodities in Kashmir and Chenab Valley and leaving thousands of commuters in distress.

The highway has remained closed since last Tuesday following massive landslides and the sinking of road patches in the Tharad area of Udhampur district.

Despite repeated assurances from authorities over the past week, restoration work has faced major setbacks due to the scale of the damage.

Officials from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) admitted that the disaster had outstripped their initial estimates and efforts.

The prolonged closure has left thousands of trucks carrying goods and passenger vehicles stranded on both sides of the highway at Udhampur, Jammu, and in Kashmir.

Daily commuters have been forced to cross heavily slushy and muddy stretches on foot, with many even removing their shoes to move on through the Bali Nalla and Tharad.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, NHAI Project Director, Shubham Yadav said that the restoration work had entered its final stage on Tuesday evening, and traffic movement was likely to be restored by Tuesday night.

“Monday’s rainfall slowed down clearance of debris and mud, but with clear weather today, work is progressing without interruption,” he said.

Yadav said that a 250-meter long two-way temporary road had been carved through the landslide hit area of Tharad to allow two-way traffic in the coming days.

However, he said that rebuilding the original highway stretch where hundreds of feet of road was completely washed away would take considerable time, and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was being prepared.

To oversee the restoration work, Regional Officer NHAI Jammu, R S Yadav, SSP Traffic National Highways, Adil Hameed, and Udhampur district administration officials are camping at the site.

However, fresh rain started in Udhampur sector which could affect restoration work.

Meanwhile, traffic movement on the Mughal Road continued smoothly with light motor vehicles (LMVs) allowed from both directions, while heavy vehicles were permitted only from Kashmir towards Jammu.

Officials said that more than 1100 vehicles, including LMVs and heavy vehicles, moved from Kashmir towards the Pir Panjal region for their onward journey to Jammu.

Similarly, hundreds of LMVs also travelled from the Pir Panjal region towards Kashmir.

Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Jammu Rural, Girdhari Lal Sharma, said that traffic remained smooth throughout the day.

He said that while heavy vehicles were allowed from Kashmir to Jammu, they would be permitted from Rajouri-Poonch towards Kashmir on Wednesday.

Sharma said that special focus was being given to the safe passage of LMVs carrying essential commodities to ensure an uninterrupted supply to Kashmir.