National Highway remains Shut for second day due to Wet Weather

The 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained shut for traffic for the second consecutive day today as fresh landslides occurred at several places, blocking the crucial supply line.
The fresh landslides blocked the highway at Digdol, Panthyal and Seeri, officials of the traffic department said.
Meanwhile, intermittent rain and snow continued in the region for the third consecutive day today. Snow also continued intermittently near the Jawahar Tunnel, the gateway to the Kashmir valley.
Officials of the traffic department said the highway was closed for vehicular traffic “keeping in view the security and safety of the drivers and passengers”.
The highway’s mountainous stretches remained strewn with boulders and the road could not be thrown open to traffic despite efforts to clear the debris, they said.
The officials said the road maintenance agencies were facing a “tough time” while clearing the highway, which was a continuous process even as fresh landslides had hit the highway.
The closure of the highway — which has avalanche and landslide-prone stretches — has snapped the surface connectivity to the Kashmir valley. The highway remained shut for long durations this winter as the Valley received several back-to-back spells of heavy snowfall.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department has said the precipitation is likely to significantly decrease in the next 24 hours. It said the weather would remain dry from Wednesday evening.
The Valley is nearing the end of extreme winter which witnessed spells of heavy snowfall, ending one of the longest dry spells. The dry weather that lasted almost four months from September to December was the longest in four decades.
Fresh landslides on Doda highway
Doda: Fresh landslides affected the movement of traffic on the 110-km-long Doda-Kishtwar highway on Tuesday. The Doda-Kishtwar highway, also called the National Highway (NH1B), was closed on Tuesday morning as fresh landslides occurred at the Junglewad, Donadi, Pakki Hatti, Raggi Nullah, Kanderi Nullah areas of Doda. Passengers travelling on the highway were stranded for several hours. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, NH1B, Aftab Ahmed said: “Landslides in Fagumad, Junglewad and a few other places of the twin districts affected the traffic movement for a few hours this morning. After hectic efforts, the debris was cleared by the department concerned.” Meanwhile, Doda, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar and Gandoh received a fresh spell of rain and snow, leading to a dip in temperature.