Boulders blocking Jmu-Sgr NH blasted, traffic likely by today
Explosives were used to blast boulders that were hampering the ongoing restoration work on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which remained closed due to multiple landslides triggered by incessant rains for the third consecutive day on Thursday, officials said.
With improvement in weather, the restoration work at over half-a-dozen places in Udhampur and Ramban districts was speeded up in the morning as over 700 Kashmir-bound stranded vehicles, mostly trucks carrying essential commodities, were cleared, the officials said.
They said efforts are on to clear the remaining 1,300 vehicles that are stranded on the highway — the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country — and partial restoration of vehicular movement can be expected by Friday afternoon.
Explosives were used to blast boulders at Dewal bridge near Samroli in Udhampur district, where a huge landslide had blocked a long stretch of the road.
Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, along with other senior officers, including Udhampur Deputy Commissioner Krittika Jyotsna and Senior Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar, inspected the landslide spot near Samroli and asked the executing agencies to ensure that the road was made traffic-worthy at the earliest.
The deputy commissioner apprised the divisional commissioner that men and machinery were working on a war footing to restore the highway.
Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam, who is also personally monitoring the road clearance operations, said 25 out of the around 30 areas hit by landslides and mudslides on the highway were cleared on Wednesday itself.
