The restoration work on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which was shut due to landslides on Tuesday, is going on at war footing.
The only surface link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country was closed for the third consecutive day on Thursday. A traffic police officials said 600 Kashmir-bound stranded vehicles were cleared after road clearance operations following the improvement of weather conditions.
He said that efforts are on to clear 1400 more stranded vehicles.
To assess the ground situation that arose due to incessant rains and landslides, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Ramesh Kumar today conducted an extensive tour of landslide hit areas on National Highway in District Udhampur, officials said.
The Divisional Commissioner Jammu along with Deputy Commissioner Udhampur, Krittika Jyotsna, SSP Vinod Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Syed Khan, ASP Anwar- Ul- Haq inspected the landslide spot near Toldi Nallah -Samroli stretch of National Highway, where men and machinery have been deployed for expeditious clearance of road.
The Divisional Commissioner asked the executing agencies to gear up men and machinery to remove landslides from national highways and ensure that the road was made traffic worthy at the earliest.
The DC apprised the Divisional Commissioner that efforts were being made to restore the National Highway. She said the men and machinery were working on war footing to restore National Highway- 44 and partial restoration of vehicular movement was expected within 24 hours.
The DC further added that the general public has been advised to adhere to weather advisories and plan their journey accordingly. Stranded passengers were advised to call on 01992-272727-272728 helpline numbers for any kind of assistance.
It was informed that the road clearance work on National Highway NH44 in Ramban District has almost been completed while men and machinery was in place for clearance of stretches closed due to landslides. It is expected that the work will complete within hours.
The District Administration Ramban was providing shelter (accommodation) to passengers stranded in the district. The administration was also providing food facilities regularly.
The Mughal road was also through for traffic.