Jammu-Srinagar NH closed after landslide, over 300 vehicles stranded

Boy killed after boulder rolls down hill, hits house in Kishtwar village

STATE TIMES NEWS

Banihal/Jammu: The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed on Thursday after a landslide in Ramban district, leaving over 300 vehicles stranded, officials said.
The landslide took place in the Shalgari area of the district, which is being battered by rains, they said
Over 300 vehicles are stranded at different points of the 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, the officials said.
They said work is on to reopen the highway for traffic but incessant rains in the Ramban-Banihal sector was proving to be an impediment.
“Continuous shooting stones, slides block traffic at Shalgadi, near Banihal. Arrangements made in shelter sheds for stranded passengers,” according to the Twitter handle of the Ramban deputy commissioner.
People have been advised not to travel on the highway without confirmation from the traffic control units, the officials said.
Meanwhile, a teenager was killed after a massive boulder rolled down a hill during a rain-triggered landslide and hit his house in Kishtwar district this morning.

Two people were trapped under the debris of the house. While 19-year-old Arshad was killed in the incident, Rashid (17) was rescued, they said.
The officials said the other occupants of the house are safe. The incident took place between 3:30 am and 4 am in the district’s Thakuria area. Loyedhar Sarpanch Mohd Rafi Shah said the village is located at the foot of the hill and there is always the threat of boulders rolling down during a landslide There was a major incident some years ago and now again there has been one, he said and demanded that the government take some measures for the safety of people.