Jammu-Srinagar NH closed for 4th day as fresh snowfall, landslides hamper road-clearing work

Banihal/Jammu, Jan 4 (PTI) The Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday as fresh snowfall and intermittent landslides hampered the clearance operation adding to the woes of the stranded passengers, officials said.

The 270-km highway is the only all-weather road linking the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.

In view of the closure of the highway, train service between Qazigund and Banihal was suspended for the day as a large number of Jammu-bound passengers reach Banihal by train and then carry on with their onward journey by road, the officials said.

The highway was closed for vehicular traffic on Wednesday following multiple landslides at Digdole and Chanderkote in Ramban district, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

"The highway was cleared for one-way traffic on Friday evening. But fresh landslides in Digdole area around midnight forced the closure of the road again. Almost all light passenger vehicles were cleared," a traffic department official said.

There was also fresh snowfall of about six inches around Jawahar Tunnel -- the gateway to Kashmir -- while the Banihal-Ramban stretch witnessed intermittent rains since Saturday morning, the official said.

The weatherman has forecast light to moderate snowfall in most parts of the Valley and high altitude areas of the Jammu region for two days from January 6 evening.