Portion of Jammu-Srinagar national highway caves in, traffic suspended for hours

Banihal/Jammu: Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended for over six hours on Sunday after a nearly 100-metre stretch of the thoroughfare caved in amid the ongoing work on a four-laning project in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district, officials said.

The 270-km highway is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country.

The 100-metre stretch at Hingni near Ramsoo caved in around 10:30 am, prompting immediate suspension of traffic, the traffic department officials said.

The concerned agency immediately pressed into service its men and machines, and managed to partially restore traffic on the highway around 4:30 pm by cutting the adjoining hill, they said.

There is very slow movement of traffic between Ramban and Banihal as efforts are on to clear the stranded vehicles, the officials said.

They advised commuters to strictly follow the directions of the department and follow lane discipline.