Jammu-Srinagar Highway Shuts For Repair Work From TONIGHT; All You Need To Know

An said traffic on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar highway will remain suspended between Ramban and Banihal stretch tonight for urgent repairs.

The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, will remain shut for vehicular traffic in wake of repair work, officials said Monday. A traffic department official said traffic on the 270-km highway will remain suspended between Ramban and Banihal stretch tonight for urgent repairs.

Traffic will remain suspended on the strategic highway from 6 PM Monday till repair work is completed, the official said, adding that the decision was taken on the intimation of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) which is carrying out urgent repair and maintenance work between Ramban and Banihal during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

“All type of vehicular movement will remain suspended tonight. No movement of any kind of vehicle, including those carrying perishable items or livestock will be allowed on NH-44 after 6 pm from Qazigund towards Ramban,” he said.

“Similarly, no vehicular movement shall be allowed from Nagrota (Jammu) after 5 pm and Udhampur at 6 pm. Commuters are advised to avoid journey on NH-44 till the work is completed,” he added.

A high-level combined team of officers from the NHAI, traffic, police and Ramban district administration recently inspected the highway and identified 17 vulnerable points between Nashri and Banihal for urgent repairs to ensure free flow of traffic.

On May 30, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo set deadline of June 10 for streamlining of riding surface and ensuring two way traffic movement on the highway in view of the upcoming annual Amarnath yatra and fruit season in the Union Territory.

Dulloo took cognizance of the time being taken, at present, by both the Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) and Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) to reach from one capital city to another.

He inquired about the condition of the road and the bottlenecks impeding smooth movement of traffic.

(With inputs from agencies)