Jammu-Srinagar highway closed

The strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed on Tuesday prompting authorities to make arrangements to airlift stranded passengers, officials said.

The highway was closed after a portion of the road on the Panthal section was washed away due to heavy landslides.

On Monday, stranded passengers abandoned their vehicles near the landslide area and walked over 15 km to reach Bannihal town in order to board trains to the valley, the traffic officials said.

According to eyewitnesses, over 500 vehicles were stranded at different places on the highway.

Meanwhile, the state government has made arrangements to airlift the stranded passengers from Srinagar to Udhampur and back.