Kashmir Highway opens for one-way, Gurez, Mughal roads remain closed
26/02/2017
SRINAGAR, Feb 25: The historic Mughal Road remained closed while border town of Gurez, surrounded by Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), was cut off from the Valley due to accumulation of snow.
However, the national highway, connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, was through for one-way traffic and vehicles will ply from Srinagar to Jammu.
The 85-km-long historic Mughal Road, linking Shopian in South Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch remained closed since last month due to heavy snowfall.
However, the Government is planning to construct a tunnel to make it an all weather road, which is seen as alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, traffic on which is disrupted frequently due to landslides and shooting stones.
There is about ten feet of snow on the road at several places, including Peer Ki Gali, Dubjan and Chattapani. The road is likely to reopen in April-May months, official sources said.
Meanwhile, dozens of far-flung and remote villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC) in the frontier district of Kupwara and Bandipora remained cut off from their respective district and tehsil headquarters because of snow.
The Bandipora to border town of Gurez road remained closed due to accumulation of snow on the road. The authorities are operating helicopter service for airlifting patients and other stranded passengers from these cut off areas.
Meanwhile, the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was through for traffic, a traffic police official said.
However, he said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, is working to make the road safe for two-way traffic.
He said the road is still damaged and narrow at some places where only one-way vehicle could pass easily. Traffic on the highway, the only road linking valley with outside the world, was frequently disrupted since January 6 when first heavy snowfall was experienced after about six months dry spell.
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