Traffic remains suspended on Sgr-Jmu NH
Banihal / Ramban, Sep 14: Traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained suspended on Sunday, although the maintenance work to clear stranded trucks continued despite fresh rains. Meanwhile, Athrout Kashmir distributed relief among over 500 stranded truckers.
After remaining closed for 15 out of 16 days since August 26, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was temporarily reopened on September 10 to allow stranded traffic to move on a trial basis, and passenger vehicles, apple-laden trucks, and other essential supply carriers are being permitted under controlled conditions.
However, the situation at Udhampur’s Thard stretch remains extremely fragile, and disruptions continue due to the sinking of the road.
A makeshift road carved through marshy debris has become the biggest bottleneck, where vehicles frequently get stuck.
Traffic Police and heavy machinery of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) are working to pull out vehicles one by one, causing massive congestion stretching from Thard to Balli Nallah.
Partial movement of vehicles was once again disrupted on the highway on Sunday as the damaged road stretch at Tharad in Udhampur district turned into a bottleneck following a fresh spell of rainfall.
Since August 25, chaos and confusion have prevailed among commuters, transporters, and truck drivers after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides, causing extensive damage to the only fair-weather road link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country.
Hundreds of load carrier trucks, mostly carrying apple consignments, have been halted across the affected area in Udhampur and Ramban districts.
AUTHROUT KASHMIR
On Sunday afternoon, a team from Athrout Kashmir, a Srinagar-based social organisation, reached Banihal with food supplies for the stranded truckers.
With the help of local NGO Banihal volunteers, they distributed ration kits and other essentials among over 500 truck drivers stranded in the Sherbibi-Banihal stretch of the highway carrying apple boxes.
TIMELINE OF DISRUPTIONS
The highway has been hit by repeated blockages over the past three weeks.
On August 25, heavy rainfall washed away parts of the road and triggered multiple landslides at four different locations between Chenani and Udhampur, forcing authorities to shut the route completely.
One Srinagar-bound tube in this sector remains totally blocked due to collapsed stretches and accumulated debris.
Authorities partially restored the highway on August 31, allowing some stranded vehicles to move.
But on September 2, land sinking at Tharad, about 4 km ahead of Udhampur town, once again blocked the highway.
After prolonged efforts, the road was temporarily reopened on September 10.
However, even now, the smooth movement of vehicles remains impossible.
A 250-300 metre uneven, muddy, and slushy patch at Tharad is causing massive traffic snarls, with vehicles often getting stuck.
SGR-JMU NH STATUS
Traffic officials said that normal heavy goods traffic will only resume once the temporary road at Tharad is further stabilised, a process expected to take several more days.
They said that rain showers on Saturday and Sunday worsened the situation, making traffic movement even more difficult in the already fragile Udhampur sector.
Meanwhile, officials at the Traffic Control Unit (TCU) Ramban said that traffic from both Jammu and Srinagar remained suspended on Sunday.
They confirmed that the NHAI continues repair and maintenance work at Tharad, where stranded trucks are being cleared one by one across the Balli Nallah–Jakhani stretch.
Simultaneously, efforts are underway to stabilise and restore the normal traffic.
They said DIG Traffic, Muhammad Haseeb Mugal, along with SSP traffic NHW Raja Adil Hameed and NHAI officials visited Tharad and inspected the road situation and restoration works.
STRANDED ON THE ROAD
Hundreds of trucks carrying essential supplies, along with apple-laden vehicles from Kashmir bound for different parts of the country, are stranded at multiple locations.
Muhammad Irfan, a commuter who began his journey from Jammu on Saturday afternoon, said it took him until 8 pm on Sunday to reach Ramban.
Expressing anger, he blamed the NHAI for poor handling of repairs.
“Instead of properly stabilising the surface, JCB operators are dumping loose soil on top of the mud. It only makes things worse. Vehicles are sinking into the slush every few minutes. Engineers appear completely non-serious about the highway’s upkeep,” he said.
Irfan said that light rainfall on Sunday morning worsened the condition further, leaving drivers and passengers stranded for hours.
However, officials said that simultaneous traffic regulation and maintenance work was underway.
DSP Traffic Udhampur, Jatinder Singh, who has been supervising traffic at Tharad, said that thousands of vehicles were stuck between Srinagar and Jammu.
“The road has been temporarily restored, but due to the muddy surface, only 40–50 vehicles can cross the stretch at a time. We are clearing traffic on a rotational basis to avoid complete chaos,” he said.
Despite these assurances, truck drivers reported dire conditions.
Abdul Majeed, Ravinder Singh, and Jasbir Singh, three drivers carrying apple consignments, said they had been stranded since August 25.
“On September 12, we were finally permitted to move towards Delhi. But at Ramban, authorities stopped us again. Since then, we have been stuck here without proper facilities,” they said.
They said that drivers scattered between Nashri and Seri were running short of food and water.
Another driver, Tarseem, said, “We have been waiting for days in isolated places. There is no drinking water, no proper food. We are helpless.”
Meanwhile, trucks unable to use the Mughal Road as an alternative route are lined up along the highway from Qazigund in Kashmir to Udhampur in Jammu, waiting for a green signal.
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway is not just a road but a lifeline for Kashmir.
Every day, thousands of tonnes of essential commodities, from vegetables and rice to fuel and medicines, are transported through this corridor.
For apple growers in south and central Kashmir, September is the peak harvest season.
Each day of delay in transporting produce to outside markets means heavy financial losses.
Locals and transporters fear that unless immediate and permanent repair work is undertaken, the problems at Tharad could persist for weeks.
“Every spell of rain undoes whatever patchwork is done. The highway cannot be managed with temporary fixes,” said a local transporter.
CURRENT STATUS
The highway had suffered unprecedented damage following cloudbursts, flash floods, and torrential rains on August 26 and 27 and September 2 and 3 across Udhampur and Ramban districts.
Several stretches of the four-lane project were washed away, while bridges and hundreds of meters of road were destroyed between Jakhani and Chenani after floods in the Tawi River.
Entire villages and hill slopes have collapsed onto and along with the highway, with officials describing the destruction in Udhampur as unparalleled in the history of the 270 km long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
On Sunday evening, authorities continued to allow limited Srinagar-bound traffic to proceed through Tharad, but the pace remained extremely slow.
Officials indicated that full restoration would take more time, given the extent of damage and unstable terrain. For now, thousands of drivers remain stranded along the 270-km highway, waiting for relief, while Kashmir braces for shortages of essential commodities if disruptions continue.
