Jammu, May 1: The Mughal road, an alternate link between Kashmir and rest of the country, was Wednesday opened for traffic after remaining closed for four months owing to heavy snowfall during winter, officials said.
The traffic on the 84-km mountainous road, connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Shopian, will be restricted to one-way and only passenger vehicles will be allowed to ply for the time being, Deputy Superintendent of Police (traffic), Mohammad Rafiq told PTI.
“We have started one way traffic from this side (Poonch) and allowed 111 light motor vehicles, mostly passenger vehicles, to move towards Shopian,” the officer said.
He said the traffic will ply alternatively from Poonch and Shopian side till the road is made worthy for two-way traffic.
“The present condition of the road is not favourable for heavy trucks right now. The agency concerned is working round-the-clock and we are expecting to allow trucks on the road by next week,” the officer said.
The road was closed for traffic on January 1 this year after heavy snowfall in the high altitude areas including Peer Ki Gali along the road.
The opening of the Mughal road is expected to ease pressure on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which witnessed frequent closure this winter due to landslides between Ramban and Banihal at regular intervals amidst ongoing work on the four-laning project, leading to scarcity of essential commodities in the valley.
The mechanical division of roads and buildings department, which maintains the surface link, launched a massive snow-clearance operation around middle of March to ensure its early reopening. However, frequent snowfall delayed the snow clearance operation. The work on the construction of the historic road, which was used by Mughal kings to reach Kashmir and is thus named after them, started in 2005 and the work was completed in December 2008.
