Landslide hits traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway

Banihal (JK): A landslide on Saturday at Gangroo near Ramsu here suspended traffic on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded, officials said.

The landslide struck the highway along the Banihal-Ramban stretch, officials said, adding road clearance operation had been taken up to ensure early resumption of vehicle movement. "Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway was stopped at around 11 am due to landlips.

Road clearance operation is going on in full swing and traffic is expected to resume soon," they said. Vehicle movement on the all-weather road, which is the only link between Kashmir and the rest of the country, had been suspended on Wednesday after the area around Jawahar tunnel – the gateway to Kashmir – experienced heavy snowfall, rendering the road in an extremely slippery condition.

One-way traffic on the highway resumed on Friday after being closed for two days. The road closure had left over 1,800 vehicles stranded. Traffic on the highway plies alternately from the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu to ensure smooth movement of vehicles.