E-Paper
2000 people stranded in Valley
Heavy rains and landslides kept Kashmir cut off from the rest of the country for the third consecutive day.
Kashmir valley remained cut off from the rest of the country for the third consecutive day on Sunday as traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu and Srinagar-Leh National Highways remained suspended due to landslides, stranding over 2,000 passengers.
The traffic on the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only surface link between Kashmir valley and rest of the country, was suspended on Friday following landslides between Ramban and Ramsu, a road stretch of 23 kms, a traffic department spokesperson said.
He said it was raining heavily all along the highway hampering efforts of the Border Roads Organisation to clear the road.
Landslides at Captain Morh on the 343-km Srinagar-Leh National Highway, lifeline to Ladakh region, forced authorities to stop vehicles from plying on the arterial road since.
About 2,000 passengers were stranded in about 60 buses at different points along the highway between Udhampur and Banihal, officials said.
The BRO, which maintains Srinagar-Jammu Highway had pressed its men and machinery for removal of landslides.
Heavy rains for the past few days have damaged the road stretch between Chowki Chora and Sunderbani on the Jammu-Poonch road, they said adding landslides have also struck the Batote-Doda road section.
