Jammu – The 250-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed for vehicular traffic on Friday, officials said.
The closure was put in place to facilitate widening of the carriageway and removal of overhanging debris at vulnerable locations between Udhampur and Banihal, following passage of a batch of around 1,600 pilgrims from the Jammu base camp to the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir at around 2.42 am, they said.
“In view of the suspension of traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the movement of all kinds of vehicles shall remain suspended between Jakheni in Udhampur and the Navyug tunnel in Banihal of Ramban district to facilitate restoration between Jakheni and Banihal”, a traffic police advisory said.
The decision was taken following requests from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), with the district magistrates of Udhampur and Ramban issuing separate orders permitting the works in the interest of the safety of commuters and drivers using the strategic highway, they said.
The works include widening the hill-side carriageway at Ladha and Samroli and removing loose overhanging debris near Gangroo and Kishtwari Pather along the Udhampur-Banihal stretch of the highway, officials said.
“No vehicle shall be allowed to proceed beyond Nagrota in Jammu towards Srinagar, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Patnitop, etc and vice versa and beyond Qazigund towards Ramban, Udhampur and Jammu,” the advisory said.
However, commuters travelling to Katra, Reasi and Udhampur towns have been advised to carry their photo identity card to facilitate smooth movement from Nagrota, it added.
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