Srinagar: The two-way traffic on the strategic Jammu-Srinagar national highway resumed on Thursday after remaining disrupted due to multiple landslides triggered by rains at different places in Ramban district for the past three days, officials said.
The traffic on the 270-km highway was suspended at 5 pm on January 31 following a massive landslide at Rampari near Sherbibi, they said.
It took more than 12 hours for the concerned agency to clear the debris and resume the traffic, they added.
After clearing hundreds of stranded vehicles on Wednesday night, fresh light motor vehicles (LMVs) were allowed from both Jammu and Srinagar, while heavy motor vehicles were only allowed from Srinagar to Jammu this morning.
“The traffic is moving smoothly according to the last reports received,” a Traffic department official said, adding the road-clearance work is still in progress at different places to facilitate the smooth movement of vehicles.
Earlier, the traffic on the highway also witnessed frequent disruptions on January 30 after heavy rain triggered landslides leading to stones rolling down from the hillocks at several places between Panthiyal and Ramsoo.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature recorded a slight rise at few places and drop at others but stayed below sub-zero level in Kashmir Valley barring Srinagar on Thursday.
A meteorological department official said that Srinagar recorded a low of 0.4°C, the same as on the previous night. Today’s minimum temperature, he said, was above normal by 1.1°C for the summer capital.
Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of minus 2.0°C against 0.2°C on the previous night and it was 0.1°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of minus 2.9°C against minus 8.9°C on the previous night and it was 3.2°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 1.9°C against minus 0.5°C on the previous night and it was 0.5°C above normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 7.6°C against minus 8.2°C on the previous night and it was normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at minus 2.3°C against minus 1.4°C on the previous night and it was normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu recorded a low of 7.5°C against 6.7°C on the previous night. It was 0.9°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 1.4°C (above normal by 0.6°C), Batote 4.1°C (above normal by 2.0°C), Katra 8.1°C (1.1°C above normal) and Bhadarwah minus 0.2°C (0.4°C above normal).
Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 11.0°C and minus 15.6°C respectively, the official said. Drass, the second coldest place after Siberia, recorded a low of minus 16.1°C.
The MeT department has forecast isolated very light rain and snow for next 24 hours. The weather department has already ruled out the possibility of any major snowfall for a week.
While Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day long harsh winter period has ended, Kashmir is under the grip of a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’.
