Shopian, Mar 19: On Tuesday afternoon, a fleet of heavy-duty machines manned by a knot of workers could be seen working diligently to clear a monstrous avalanche in the Zaznar area along the historic Mughal Road.
Multiple spells of snow during January and February months clogged up the road, rendering Rajouri and Poonch districts off-limits from the Shopian side.
However, as soon as the weather showed a significant improvement, the administration pressed men and machinery into service to make the rugged terrain motorable.
An official told Greater Kashmir that snow clearance operations were underway at full throttle to re-open the road.
The remapping of territorial constituencies, merging Rajouri and Poonch districts from Jammu division with Anantnag in Kashmir division added an additional layer of significance to the arterial road.
The reopening of the road before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will make the campaigning easy for both the candidates and their supporters across the divide. The Anantnag- Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency is scheduled to go to polls on May 7.
Abdul Rehman Khan, Assistant Executive Engineer, Mechanical and Hospital sub-division Pulwama-Shopian told Greater Kashmir that they cleared 31.5 kms from the Shopian side.
The massive avalanches along the road are making the snow clearing operation difficult, informed the official.
One of the monstrous avalanches that the snow clearance team removed was over 350 meters in length and six meters in height.
A total of 10 high-end machines including Rolba Snow Blower, Unimog Mercedes and Liugong are working tirelessly to make the road motorable from the Shopian side.
“We have to pick and carry the snow from the avalanche sites and it takes us more time,” Khan said.
According to the official, although this year the depth of snow was lower, compared to the last year, the rising temperature have spurred the massive avalanches.
The official said that they were expecting to clear the road from the Shopian side by Sunday, provided “they do not encounter additional avalanches.”