Highway continues to remain closed
Ramban/ Banihal Sep 2: Following a fresh spell of rain across the Udhampur and Banihal sectors that triggered fresh landslides and shooting again, forcing the authorities to completely suspend vehicular movement on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to the sinking of the road at Tharad, Udhampur, on Tuesday morning.
The highway suffered further damage on Tuesday evening following continuous rains in Banihal and Udhampur.
Fresh landslides and sinking of land were reported in the Balli Nallah and Tharad bridge areas of Udhampur district on Tuesday evening, dealing a severe blow to the efforts of the early restoration of the highway.
Officials said that in addition to the sinking road and land patches in Udhampur, a major retaining wall of the highway collapsed outside the Shalgadi tunnel, about 6 km from Banihal, late evening Tuesday.
The debris from the fallen wall slid onto the lower road, creating further hurdles for the movement of traffic.
The highway was closed from Tuesday morning after fresh rains triggered shooting stones and landslides in Ramban and Udhampur districts, and traffic was halted at several places on the highway and was not allowed from Udhampur and Qazigund.
The highway was partially opened late Sunday evening after remaining blocked for six consecutive days.
Senior Superintendent of Traffic Police, National Highway, Ramban, Raja Adil Hamid said the road stretch was used till Tuesday morning for the clearance of stranded vehicles that were engulfed by the sinking uphill amid continuous rains at Tharad area of Udhampur.
A huge mudslide at Maroog also blocked the Ramban and Banihal sectors late Tuesday afternoon.
Officials said traffic on the highway was suspended again on Tuesday after heavy rains triggered mudslides and shooting stones at several places between Chennai and Udhampur.
The traffic authorities said the road stretch from Jakhani, Udhampur, to Banihal was closed for vehicular movement.
Meanwhile, traffic authorities have advised commuters and vehicle operators not to undertake journeys on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway without confirming the status of the road from the Traffic Control Units (TCUs) of Srinagar, Jammu, Udhampur, and Ramban and on the X handle and Facebook page of J&K Traffic Police.
They said that the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more rain for the next few days.
Meanwhile, vehicular traffic movement on the Batote-Doda-Kishtwar National Highway was also halted due to a fresh landslide near Pul Doda.
