Ramban: The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway partially resumed for stranded vehicular traffic on Thursday.
The traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was suspended on Wednesday due to slippery road conditions after snowfall on both sides of the Banihal-Qazigund tunnel and heavy rains triggering landslides, shooting stones from the hillock overlooking the arterial road passing through Ramban district.
Thursday morning, the highway was opened for stranded traffic after a slight improvement in the weather. Scores of oil, gas tankers, and trucks carrying essential supplies, stranded at Chenani and Ramban, crossed the Jawahar and Banihal-Qazigund tunnels to reach the landlocked Kashmir.
However, stranded private cars, passenger Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) were allowed from either side of the highway.
Traffic authorities said all stranded passenger Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs), private cars which were stopped at Jakhani, Udhampur, Ramban, and Qazigund were allowed to move to their respective destinations.
They said all the valley-bound stranded trucks carrying essential commodities were cleared on Thursday.
Deputy Superintendent of Traffic Police National Highway Ramban Praful Bhardwaj said that all the stranded traffic was cleared today after the men and machinery of NHAI cleared the landslide and made it traffic worthy at Cafeteria Morh Ramban, Panthyal, and other places.
He said no fresh traffic was released from Srinagar and Jammu today. Deputy Commissioner Ramban Mussarat Islam asked NHAI to deploy adequate men and machinery at vulnerable places to clear the road immediately in case of landslides.
An engineer of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Sahil Upal informed that vehicular traffic, which was affected between Ramban and Banihal, was restored on Srinagar Jammu National Highway.
Meanwhile, Traffic Police Headquarters issued a fresh advisory for Friday saying that subject to fair weather and better road conditions, Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) would be allowed to ply on both sides whereas Heavy Motor Vehicles (trucks) would be allowed to move towards Jammu through Banihal-Qazigund tunnel on Srinagar Jammu National Highway on Friday.
Traffic Control Unit Jammu and Srinagar were asked to liaise with TCU Ramban before releasing the traffic.
The cut-off timings have been fixed as 6 am to 12 pm for Jammu bound Light Motor Vehicles.
The cut-off timings for Srinagar bound LMVs, private cars have been fixed as 6 am to 12 pm from Nagrota, Jammu and 7 am to 1 pm from Jakhani, Udhampur on Friday.