Road-link to Leh to be reopened ahead of schedule

The Srinagar-Leh National Highway, the only road linking frontier Ladakh with rest of Jammu and Kashmir, is expected to be reopened for light vehicles on Friday, a month ahead of schedule, thanks to the snow clearance works taken up by the BRO.

The Srinagar-Leh National Highway, the only road linking frontier Ladakh with rest of Jammu and Kashmir, is expected to be reopened for light vehicles on Friday, a month ahead of schedule, thanks to the snow clearance works taken up by the BRO.

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Light vehicles would be allowed on the 434-km road from April 16 and by April 20 all types of vehicles would ply, an official spokesman said today.

Transport Minister Qamar Ali Akhoon had inspected the condition of the arterial road and visited upto Zero Point, before taking the decision yesterday, he said.

The 11,578 feet high Zoji-La Pass, 107 km from here, attracts the heaviest snowfall during winter and it remains closed to traffic for six-seven months a year.

As usual, the strategic highway was closed in November last. Though late snowfall in the valley had cast a shadow over its reopening, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which maintains the road, stepped up efforts to ensure its early opening, the spokesman said.

In normal conditions, it is reopened by mid-May.