Srinagar-Jammu highway closed due to heavy snowfall
The Srinagar-Jammmu national highway remained closed for the second consecutive day following heavy snowfall at many places along the road.
Chief engineer of the Border Roads Organisation, that maintains the over 300-km highway, Brigadier T.P.S. Rawat said: "Traffic has been stopped because of heavy snow in Banihal and Patnitop sectors of the road. Over three feet deep snow has gathered on the road in Patnitop sector and two feet snow in Banihal. We are monitoring the situation. Road clearance operations will be started once snowfall stops."
"The road conditions are extremely slippery in the snow-bound areas, and, therefore, we do not want to take any chances with the traffic at the moment. We lost one of our boys this morning during snow clearance in the Kishtwar area," Brig. Rawat said.
The chief engineer said the BRO has again started road clearance operations from Ramban to Chenani on the Srinagar-Jammu highway on the request of the authorities.
The BRO had handed over this sector to the National Highways Authority for four-laning.
"I am presently supervising the clearance operations at Patnitop," Rawat said.
Meanwhile, people have started complaining of power breakdowns and non-supply in towns, cities and villages of the Kashmir Valley as the night-long snow has thrown the electricity transmission system haywire.
"We are trying to restore the system and it is expected that electricity would be shortly available to consumers," a senior engineer said.
