Overnight rains and heavy snowfall triggered fresh landslides in Ramban district and blocked the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Saturday, said officials.
“The Jammu-Srinagar national highway is closed for vehicular movement due to landslides, shooting stones at many places and snow accumulation around the Navyug Tunnel,” said SSP, traffic, national highway, Shabir Malik.
However, the traffic was restored on the national highway in the evening for one-way traffic of stranded vehicles.
“The vehicles stranded in Ramban are being allowed to move towards Kashmir after the road was cleared of the landslides, “ said an official of traffic department.
He also informed that nearly 700 trucks carrying essentials to the Valley had been left stranded between Batote and Ramban.
“The incessant rains have triggered landslides at many places in Ramban and shooting stones are posing a risk to the drivers. As a result, the traffic movement has been stopped,” he said.
The SSP informed that keeping in view weather conditions and stranded vehicles, no fresh traffic movement shall be allowed on Sunday.
“We will clear the stranded vehicles first after the affected stretches on the highway are restored and shooting stones stop falling off the hills in the vulnerable areas,” said Malik.
A truck driver suffered injuries when he was hit by a shooting stone near Cafeteria Morh in Ramban on Saturday morning.
{{/usCountry}}A truck driver suffered injuries when he was hit by a shooting stone near Cafeteria Morh in Ramban on Saturday morning.
{{/usCountry}}“He has suffered injuries and has been hospitalised. His condition is said to be stable,” said a police officer. The injured truck driver has been identified as Waseem Ahmed, a resident of Baramulla.