STATE TIMES NEWS
BHADARWAH: Hundreds of passengers face hardship on Thursday when due to massive jam on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, authorities suspend movement of any passenger busses and other heavy vehicles on Kishtwar-Batote National Highway beyond Doda since morning , leaving over 500 Jammu -bound passengers stranded at Pul Doda.
The passengers most of them with their families are up in arms against the administration as they claimed that they have been stopped midway on the road without any valid reason or prior information.
A stranded passenger Mohd Iqbal from Gwari Gandoh said that If there was some problem on highway, then why did authorties allowed the vehicles to move towards Jammu from Kishtwar, Bhalessa, Bhadarwah and other far off stations in the morning. I am stranded here since 8:00 AM with my wife and kids without food and facing extreme cold.
“Despite repeated enquires, police is not telling us clearly, whether to go back or wait for the road to open,” he added.
When contacted, Dy SP traffic NH1B, Aftab Ahmed said that we are just following the instructions of higher authorities, as due to landslide, resulting in massive jam on NH1A, we are instructed not to allow any vehicle to move towards Jammu till further orders. We are in touch with the authorities, as soon we get the green signal, the traffic will be allowed immediately
He informed that today is up traffic and vehicles were supposed to move from Jammu only and we make other passengers, who are traveling in the right direction to suffer as well. However after 2:00 PM, we allowed light motor vehicles to move.
