Repairs on Jammu-Srinagar NH may take days, Mughal Road comes to the rescue
With major damage reported at multiple spots along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH) due to heavy rainfall and flashfloods, it is estimated that repair work will take at least three to four days. Road clearance operations continued on Monday across at least 20 affected locations on the vital highway link to Kashmir.
Other major links to Kashmir, including the Sinthan Road and Leh-Srinagar Highway, are also closed. The Mughal Road—another crucial route connecting Jammu’s Poonch district to Kashmir’s Shopian district through the Pir Panjal range—remains open but is restricted to Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) only.
As a result, the entire pressure of traffic has shifted to the Mughal Road. The route, which meanders through high mountain passes, witnessed heavy congestion soon after it was opened for traffic from the Srinagar side. A major traffic jam was reported at Chandimarh area on Monday. Only emergency travellers were allowed to proceed from Jammu towards Srinagar, officials said.
Most internal roads of Rajouri and Poonch districts linked to the Mughal Road were heavily choked, posing serious challenges to traffic regulation efforts by the police.
The historic Mughal Road, which typically remains closed during the winter months due to heavy snowfall at Peer Ki Gali, had been reopened for one-way traffic on April 15 after three months. However, it was again shut on April 18 due to inclement weather before reopening for limited traffic.
Meanwhile, hundreds of vehicles remain stranded at various points along the Jammu-Srinagar NH, which is also the key route for essential supplies to Kashmir. Prolonged closure of the highway could lead to a scarcity of essential commodities in the Valley. Volunteers from local NGOs, who provided food and water to stranded truckers, said at least 400 trucks were stuck at Banihal in Ramban.
Three persons, including two minors, have lost their lives so far, while over 300 people have been rescued by the Army and administration after being trapped in flash floods.
Senior police officials and members of the civil administration visited Ramban on Monday to assess the situation. Major damages to the highway have been reported near Panthiyal and Kela Morh. The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, who visited the damaged stretches, told the media that the road has “sunk at multiple locations.”
“Administration is providing relief material to the affected, and road clearance work has started on a war footing,” he said. He further stated that at least 10 to 12 villages in Ramban district have witnessed substantial damage due to the rains.
Accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Ramban Baseer-ul-Haq Chaudhary, SSP Ramban Kulbir Singh and SSP Traffic NH Raja Adil Hamid, the Divisional Commissioner visited several severely affected locations, including Seri, Boli Bazar, Main Bazar Ramban, Higher Secondary School area and Nawi Basti.
J & K