Mughal Road opening gets delayed

Rajouri, Apr 4:  The opening of the Mughal Road for the movement of vehicles is expected to be delayed by a few days as a massive landslide has hit the road at Chatta Pani besides the fresh snowfall that started Thursday evening.

Big rocks and clay fell on the road from a hilltop with regular incidents of shooting stones also taking place at the site.

Earlier, the Mechanical Engineering Department completed the snow clearance work on the road.
It was expected that a meeting would take place on Thursday evening in which a decision would be taken about allowing traffic on the road after consulting all stakeholders including the Police, civil administration, Traffic Police, Mughal Roads Projects, and Mechanical Engineering Department.

Executive Engineer of Mughal Road Projects, Shokat Ali told Greater Kashmir that the road was cleared of snow to manage single lane traffic by weekend but fresh snowfall started on Thursday which could increase slippery conditions.

He said that the road opening would get delayed due to a massive landslide that has taken place near Chatta Pani.

“Big rocks have fallen on the road besides clay. Regular shooting stones are also being reported,” Ali said.

He said that the landslide was big and it would take time to clear the debris, which would delay the

restoration of traffic by a few days.

Deputy SP Traffic Rajouri-Poonch, Muhammad Nawaz told Greater Kashmir that the Mughal Road Projects had informed about this massive landslide and the road restoration decision could only be taken once slide debris was cleared.

Meanwhile, the district administration Poonch rebutted the news regarding the movement of vehicles on Mughal Road and said that the road had not been opened formally.

In an official statement, the Poonch administration said that contrary to many news items being telecast or circulated, it is informed for the interest of people that Mughal Road has not been opened formally for plying of traffic due to fresh landslides and boulders blocking the road at various places.