Jammu: The traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway will remain suspended for 24 hours, beginning Sunday morning, for widening of the road damaged due to recent landslides, especially near Ramban town, an official said.
According to an order issued by Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Baseer-ul-Haq Chaudhary, the traffic will be halted on the highway for repair work from 8 am on Sunday to 8 am on Monday.
A traffic department official clarified that the traffic will remain suspended on the 250-km highway between Nashri Tunnel to Banihal Tunnel — a 66-km stretch in Ramban which suffered damages at several places especially between Maroog and Seri following multiple landslides triggered by heavy rains on April 20.
“There will be no movement of any kind of vehicle after 5 pm today (Saturday) from Qazigund towards Jammu and from Udhampur towards Srinagar. Load carrier operators carrying perishable items or livestock are advised to load their vehicles accordingly,” a spokesperson of the traffic department said.
The one-way traffic on the highway was restored on April 23 to facilitate stranded passengers to move out of Kashmir following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam a day earlier. The attack left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
In his order, the deputy commissioner Ramban granted sanction to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for taking a 24-hour traffic haltage to undertake the widening of damaged road portions in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the commuters.
The four-km Maroog-Seri stretch of the highway was worst hit in the natural fury, burying dozens of vehicles, including trucks and damaging the retaining walls and vehicle parapets.
