SRINAGAR: Traffic movement was resumed on Thursday after remaining suspended on Wednesday in view of weekly maintenance on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, a traffic police official said today.
Meanwhile, one-way traffic movement continued today on the national highway, linking Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir, historic 86-km-long Mughal and Anantnag-Kishtwar roads are also through though passenger vehicle and pedestrian movement remained suspended.
”We allowed Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) traffic from both Srinagar and Jammu today”, the official said. However, Kashmir-bound LMV have to leave Nagrota between 0700 hrs to 1200 hrs and Jakheni Udhampur from 0800 hrs to 1300 hrs, he said, adding that similarly Jammu-bound LMVs have to leave Zig Qazigund between 0800 hrs to 1200 hrs. No vehicle will be allowed before and after cut-off timing, he said.
However, he said only Kashmir-bound Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs), stranded between Jakheni and Ramban, will be allowed to move. Security force vehicles will ply from Srinagar to Jammu, he said. He said traffic movement was suspended on Thursday on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in view of weekly maintenance, particularly between Nashree and Jawahar tunnel. He said the UT administration has decided to allow the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to undertake maintenance of the road every Wednesday to keep the highway open for traffic during other days of the week.
Today only Ladakh-bound vehicles will ply from Srinagar, he said, adding that vehicles had to leave Sonamarg in the central Kashmir district of Ganderbal between 0700 hrs to 1500 hrs. No vehicle will be allowed before and after cut-off timing, he said.
He said only load carriers, loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables besides empty trucks and oil tankers will be allowed to ply from Herpora Shopian towards Poonch on Mughal road which is being seen as an alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu highway. He said passenger traffic and pedestrian movement will remain banned. However, medical emergencies will be allowed, he added. Similarly, only vehicles carrying patients for medical emergencies will be allowed to ply on Anantnag-Kishtwar road. (agencies)
