STATE TIMES NEWS
Banihal/Jammu: One-way traffic resumed on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway after remaining suspended for most part of the day following a massive landslide near Banihal on Friday, officials said.
The landslide struck the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, at Romepadi around 11 am during the ongoing four-laning project, they said.
After a hectic day-long road clearance operation by the agency concerned, the one-way traffic was restored around 9 pm, officials said, adding that only stranded light motor passenger vehicles were allowed as the clearance operation is still on.
Senior Superintendent of Police, National Highway (Ramban), Shabir Malik said a heavy boulder is still in the middle of the road and four rock breaker machines are engaged to clear the road.
According to officials, the road clearance agencies have to work very cautiously to ensure that no damage is done to a nearby bridge providing connectivity to an under-construction railway tunnel.
Earlier during the day, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic (National Highway), Asgar Malik said, “Big boulders rolled down from a hillock and completely blocked the highway.”
