Hundreds of tourists stranded as Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remains closed for second day

Srinagar: Hundreds of tourists remained stranded in Kashmir as the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway --“ the only all-weather road link connecting the valley with the rest of the country --“ was closed for traffic for the second day on Wednesday.

The closure of the highway has left many travellers stuck here.

"I have been stuck here for the last two days. We had come here to enjoy snow, but it is this snow that has become our punishment," Kailash, a tourist from Rajasthan told PTI Videos. He appealed to the authorities to clear the road "anyhow" and "allow us to go as our families are waiting for us".

"The flights were cancelled yesterday and now the fare has increased. They are asking for at least 20-25 thousand. We request you to clear the road as it is causing us distress. If this approach remains, then next time no tourist will come to Kashmir, we will not come for sure if it continues like this," he added.

Another tourist, Mohit Sharma, said the closure of the highway for the second day has caused many hardships to the people.

"They are not allowing traffic even after the weather has improved. We want to go home, but are stuck here unfortunately. It is causing us many hardships. We are forced to spend extra than our budget. We want them to allow traffic so that the people who are stranded and have nowhere to go, could leave," Sharma said.

While the stranded tourists are waiting anxiously for the highway to reopen, some said that they were "fortunate" to get stuck in the snow-covered valley.

"I won't say that I am stuck. I do not feel that I am stuck. Everyone is not fortunate to be stuck here, I am," Shipra Bharadwaj, a professor at Delhi University who is on her fourth trip to the Kashmir valley, said.

Bharadwaj said she was advised this time to visit the valley in 'Chilla-i-Kalan, the 40-day harshest winter period during which the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent.

"I had never felt snow fall over my head. This time I did. I am fortunate," she added.

The snowfall on Tuesday forced the closure of the highway and the suspension of the flight operations at the Srinagar airport. While the flight operations resumed on Wednesday after improvement in the weather, the highway continued to remain closed for traffic.

The authorities are making efforts to restore the national highway (NH-44) as it continued to remain closed on the second day on Wednesday due to snow accumulation and slippery conditions, the officials said.

They said snow clearance operations were in progress to restore the traffic on the highway.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) personnel are sprinkling salt and urea on the road to improve conditions for safe driving as parts of the highway remained slippery due to frosty conditions after the snowfall, they said.