Tharad-Balli Nullah becomes new landslide hotspot on Jammu-Srinagar highway
Srinagar, Oct 6: The second week of August brought relentless rains that triggered boulders and landslides, once again disrupting the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the vital lifeline connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country. While eight to ten stretches of the highway, especially between Banihal and Ramban, are traditionally prone to landslides, this year a section in Udhampur district bore the brunt.
A stretch at Tharad turned into a muddy quagmire, bringing traffic to a standstill and leaving hundreds of trucks loaded with freshly harvested apples and pears stranded for weeks.
New Trouble Spot
The stretch between Udhampur and Chenani, particularly a 250-300-meter section between Tharad and Balli Nullah, emerged as a new trouble spot. Unceasing rains swelled the Tawi River flowing alongside the road, loosening the mountainside and triggering massive landslides that devastated the section.
“Earlier, such issues were mostly confined to the Banihal-Ramban area. The Tawi River rose above the evacuation level, saturating the slope and causing severe erosion,” said Shubham, Executive Engineer and Project Director, PIU (NHAI). “Other vulnerable points were not as badly damaged this time, but the flooding of the Tawi created a crisis of its own.”
This stretch passes through the outer ranges of the Himalayas, known as the Shivalik Hills, part of young and fragile mountains. Officials said the geology changes almost every three to four kilometers, and the loose soil makes the terrain highly susceptible to landslides and erosion during heavy rains.
“Cloudbursts in higher reaches of Udhampur and Doda sharply increased the flow of the Tawi River, causing massive devastation in this fragile terrain,” said another official.
Engineering Measures and Limitations
Despite extensive engineering interventions—including slope protection, retaining walls, nets, bolting, and tunnels—this new stretch has emerged as a vulnerable point. “We maintained the angle of repose while cutting the rocks and reinforced the slopes, but this happened due to a natural calamity,” said a senior official.
“While we have added additional layers of protection in the Banihal-Ramban sector, the Udhampur-Chenani stretch appeared more stable until this year,” said the Project Director.
Officials emphasized that no engineering system can fully prevent landslides when extreme natural events, such as rivers rising above evacuation levels, occur. “You can cut at the right angle, put in retaining walls, install nets, but damage may be inevitable during extraordinary events,” admitted an NHAI engineer.
Economic Fallout
The disruptions go beyond engineering challenges, severely affecting the economy. Farmers and transporters suffered heavy losses, estimated between Rs 700 and Rs 750 crore. Pears and high-density varieties like Gala, Jeromine, Super Chief, Scarlet Spur-II, Red Velox, and Gala Scarlet rotted on stranded trucks.
“An overpowering stench began emanating from my lorry as the pears rotted,” said Gulzar Ahmad, a trucker who returned to Shopian Mandi after being stranded for nine days.
The prolonged closure forced farmers to delay harvests, store produce in cold storage, and incur additional costs. “This season, arrivals are 30 percent higher compared to last year,” said Izhan Javed, spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir Fruit and Vegetables, Processing and Integrated Cold Chain Association (JKPICCA).
The Tharad-Balli Nullah stretch underscores the continuing vulnerability of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, highlighting the limits of engineering solutions against nature’s fury and the economic impact of disrupted connectivity.
