Ramban, Mar 19: Despite inclement weather conditions between Nashri and Banihal, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained open for two-way traffic of Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) and one-way traffic of Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) for Kashmir on Sunday.
Traffic authorities said that during the last 24 hours up to 5 pm on Sunday, the highway remained blocked for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
They said that the highway remained blocked for 2 hours and 55 minutes due to shooting stones on the Mehar-Cafeteria stretch of Ramban and for 30 minutes due to the closure of the Banihal-Qazigund (Navyug) tunnel.
The traffic authorities said that the movement of traffic remains slow at various places between Nashri and Banihal tunnels due to the breakdown of four HMVs.
Traffic officials monitoring the regulation of traffic on the Mehar-Cafeteria stretch in Ramban said hundreds of LMVs crossed this stretch for their respective destinations during the day.
They said HMVs released from Jakhani, Udhampur at noon were crossing the Nashri -Ramban sector toward Kashmir in a regulated manner on the highway.
Meanwhile, J&K Traffic Department issued a fresh advisory for Monday stating that subject to fair weather and road clearance, LMVs would be allowed to move on either side of the highway while HMVs would be allowed from Qazigund, Kashmir towards Jammu after assessing the road and traffic situation on the highway on Monday morning.
Traffic Control Unit (TCU) Srinagar has been asked to liaise with TCU Ramban before releasing the HMVs.
The cut-off timings have been fixed from 7 am to 12 pm from Nagrota, Jammu, and from 8 am to 1 pm from Jakhani, Udhampur for Srinagar-bound LMVs.
The cut-off timings for Jammu-bound LMVs has been fixed from 8 am to 12 pm from Qazigund, Kashmir on Monday.
People have been advised to undertake journeys on the highway only after confirming the status of the road from TCU Jammu, TCU Srinagar, and TCU Ramban.
The security forces have been advised not to ply against the advisory because of the narrow carriageway between Nashri and Banihal.