Srinagar-Jammu highway opens for stranded vehicles

, Mar 13: The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which was closed for the past two days following heavy

, was opened on Thursday for stranded vehicles to proceed to their destinations.

"Restoration work on national highway is going on. Men and machinery are on job. There will be no fresh movement of traffic on the national highway either from Srinagar or Jammu on Thursday. Only stranded vehicles are being allowed," a spokesman of the traffic department said.

The arterial road -– the only all-weather road link between Kashmir and rest of the country -– was closed on Tuesday following heavy snowfall across the Valley.

The air link between Srinagar international airport and rest of the country was restored yesterday. Train services between the Valley and Banihal were, however, operational even during the snowfall.

Meanwhile, there was little respite for people of the Valley from the after-effects of the snowfall as electricity and water supply in most parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar city, have not been restored.

The roads in commercial hub of Lal Chowk and Exhibition Crossing remained inundated, causing severe problems in the movement of traffic and pedestrians.

State Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey yesterday chaired a high-level meeting during which he directed the divisional administration of the Valley to expedite the restoration of essential services and clearance of snow from roads for smooth plying of traffic.

He instructed dewatering of inundated areas due to recent heavy snowfall.

PTI