Intermittent rains in plains and snowfall in upper reaches have stopped traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway for fourth consecutive day on Thursday while several flights cancelled at Srinagar airport.
A traffic police official said that the strategic Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only surface link between Kashmir and rest of the country, remained closed for vehicular traffic in the wake of fresh snowfall and landslides at several places.
He said hundreds of vehicles are stranded on the highway and efforts were on to first clear these. “If weather conditions improve, stranded vehicles will be allowed to move on Friday,” he added. Officials said flights operating from Srinagar ‘International’ Airport were also delayed on Thursday, due to the bad weather conditions.
Meanwhile, Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued 220 people stranded in snow-bound areas of remote Kishtwar district of Jammu region on Wednesday. A defence spokesperson said IAF airlifted 220 people trapped in snow-hit Kishtwar district on Wednesday. “The ‘130 Helicopter Unit’ stationed at Jammu undertook a demanding operation to rescue stranded people from the inaccessible villages of Kishtwar, Navapachi, and Sondar,” he said.
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