Srinagar-Jammu national highway reopens for passenger traffic
Srinagar: The strategic Srinagar-Jammu national highway was reopened for passenger traffic on Tuesday after it remained closed for a day due to a landslide and shooting stones in Ramban district of J&K.
Traffic department officials said this morning that passenger traffic has been allowed from both sides on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44).
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Traffic National Highway, Raja Adil, told reporters that vehicular movement has resumed on the national highway after the restoration of the strategic connectivity.
Authorities have advised commuters to strictly adhere to lane discipline, warning that overtaking and wrong-lane driving may lead to traffic congestion along the route.
People have also been urged not to listen to rumours and instead verify road status through official platforms of the Traffic Police, including their social media handles and Traffic Control Units (TCUs).
The nearly 300 km long highway is the lifeline for supplies for the landlocked Valley, as most essentials of life are still brought into Kashmir through this highway.
LPG, petrol, diesel, kerosene, mutton, poultry products and vegetables are still brought into the Valley through tankers and trucks despite the fully operational all-weather rail link between Jammu and Kashmir.
Unless cargo trains start bringing in essentials of life and carry out fruit, etc., from the Valley to national markets during the peak season, the dependence on the highway will continue.
With massive renovation and restoration carried out by laying new bridges, flyovers and tunnels, the travel time between Srinagar and Jammu has been brought down to five hours from the previous 10 to 12 hours.
Despite this, the highway remains a highly weather-dependent road because of the dicey stretch from Ramsoo to Ramban town. Shooting stones and landslides triggered by rain often block the highway in this stretch of the road, and restoration work sometimes takes days together.