HIGHWAY HURDLES | Brief rains bring traffic jitters on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway

Ramban, Mar, 30: Following a brief spell of rain, traffic movement was disrupted for a couple of hours on the Mehar –Cafeteria stretch of Ramban on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Saturday morning.

Officials said that traffic on the highway was disrupted following rains that caused mudslides and shooting stones on the Mehar-Cafeteria stretch of Ramban, Panthyal, Tunnel T2, Mom Passi Ramsu, and Kishtwari Pathar.

The highway was restored for stranded traffic at around 11 am after men and machinery of the concerned agency of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) cleared the accumulated mudslides and stones.

Traffic authorities said that the highway remained blocked for around three hours due to mudslides and shooting stones on the Mehar-Cafeteria stretch of Ramban, Mom Passi Ramsu, Panthyal, and Kishtwari Pathar.

Traffic officials in Ramban said following heavy rains vehicular traffic was disrupted due to mudslides and intermittent triggering of rolling stones at T2 Panthyal and Kishtwari Pathar.

They said that after clearing landslides, Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) and heavy vehicles crossed the Ramban-Banihal sector for their respective destinations in a regulated manner.

The traffic officials said vehicular traffic remained slow due to slippery road conditions at Dalwass, Mehar, and Cafeteria, and due to poor road surface conditions at various other places between Nashri and Banihal.

They said that amid shooting stones at Panthyal, the highway remained open for two-way traffic.

Meanwhile, traffic officials at Traffic Control Unit (TCU) Ramban said that subject to fair weather and good road conditions, LMVs and heavy vehicles would be allowed to ply on either side of the highway on Sunday.

The traffic authorities advised the commuters not to undertake journeys on the highway without confirming the status of the road on Sunday morning.

Earlier, a shooting stone hit a moving vehicle in the Peera area of Nashri although no one was injured.