Heavy snow closes Kashmir highway; 300 vehicles stranded

Srinagar, Dec 11 (UNI) The 300-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only road link between the Kashmir valley and the rest of the country, was closed for traffic today due to heavy snowfall near the Jawahar tunnel, leaving about 300 vehicles stranded on the road.

A traffic official told UNI here that the national highway-1A was closed for all kinds of vehicles at 1630 hrs due to heavy snowfall near the 2.5-km-long Jawahar tunnel, about 90 km from here.

He said the authorities were forced to close the highway as about one feet of snow had accumulated near the tunnel so far.

Javed Assad, a resident of Qazigund near the Jawahar tunnel, told UNI over phone that about 300 vehicles were stranded on the highway.

However, he said the stranded vehicles comprised mainly trucks as the the authorities directed all passenger cars and buses to proceed back to Srinagar for safety reasons.

Assad said the officials did not allow the drivers to park their passenger vehicles or private cars on the highway. It was still snowing heavily in the entire area, he added.

Assad said a thick blanket of snow could be seen at the Jawahar tunnel, Lower Munda, Digdole and other areas along the highway.

UNI