The jawans had to take shelter in the tunnel to protect themselves from avalanches.
On Friday, January 27, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he had to cancel his walk for the day in Kashmir because police arrangements by the Jammu and Kashmir administration "unfortunately completely collapsed".
The Congress accused the government of withdrawing security personnel from around Rahul Gandhi as the Bharat Jodo Yatra reached near Qazigund in Jammu and Kashmir.
The rescued police personnel were shifted to hospital where their condition is stated to be stable.
The highway was closed on Saturday due to heavy snowfall and landslides.
Hundreds of Kashmir-bound stranded vehicles were given green signal on Tuesday afternoon after the roads were cleared for vehicular traffic.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was on Sunday closed for vehicular traffic due to heavy snowfall around Jawahar Tunnel area, official sources said.
"One BRO personnel from the team is still missing," the sources added.
This is the first major snowfall in Kashmir this winter, which was largely dry so far.
The snowfall started during the night at most places and early in the morning at few places, the officials said. They said while some areas in north Kashmir received light snowfall, most areas in central and south Kashmir experienced moderate snowfall.
This spell is most likely to give good snow/rain in the Pirpanjal area Gulmarg, Ramban-Banihal, Shopian, Poonch-Rajouri and Zojila especially during November 24-25 and decrease thereafter significantly.
Traffic control authorities said efforts were on to clear the road but continuing snowfall was impeding road clearance operation.
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was reopened for one way traffic after overnight heavy snowfall had blocked it.
A CRPF vehicle had suffered slight damage when a Santro car went up in flames after an explosion at Tethar village, seven km from Banihal, shortly after a Jammu-bound convoy crossed the Jawahar Tunnel, the gateway to Kashmir valley.
The measure has been adopted to facilitate unhindered movement of security forces' convoys.
The Jammu-Doda and Rajouri-Poonch routes were also closed.
About 10 inches of snow had accumulated on ground around Jawahar Tunnel areas, but the real problem is continuous landslides and shooting of stones triggered by incessant rains in Ramban sector which is hampering the efforts of early restoration of the highway.
Sources said no vehicles were being allowed to leave Srinagar or Jammu on Friday as about one foot of snow had accumulated near the tunnel at Banihal. They said about 2,000 passengers, besides drivers and conductors of trucks and other vehicles, have been stranded on the highway for the past three days.
Though the Border Roads Organisation pressed its men and machinery into service as and when the shooting of stones stopped, yet the clearance work continuously got disrupted by loose Panthal rocks.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed on Friday due to heavy snowfall since Thursday night, traffic officials said.
State government said men and machinery were geared up to ensure that all routes, including the national highway, remain open for traffic.
Around 1,100 passengers have been evacuated. Around 14,00 are still stuck.
Over 800 vehicles, including 178 buses, were stranded on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Monday morning after the road got blocked due to landslides triggered by heavy snowfall and rain since Saturday, official sources said.
The IAF has pressed into services nine choppers, three Il-76s and four AN-32s for the operation.
Kashmir remained cut-off from the rest of the country for the second day on Thursday with road and air links to the Valley snapped due to snowfall, the heaviest in a decade in the month of January.
A CRPF vehicle suffered slight damages in the rear side.
Kashmir remained cut off from rest of the country for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday as the arterial Jammu-Srinagar national highway and the Mughal road remained closed, while air traffic was suspended due to heavy snowfall across the valley.
The Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir to the rest of the country, was closed for vehicular traffic as the valley including Srinagar experienced fresh snowfall on Wednesday.
Kashmir is witnessing a fresh spell of wet weather with higher reaches receiving heavy snowfall and plains lashed by a mix of rain and snow.
Intense cold wave gripped Kashmir, with Kargil becoming the coldest place this winter.
Heavy snowfall has blanketed Kashmir, bringing relief to the residents from dry weather. The snowfall, which began in the late afternoon on Friday, has continued in most parts of the valley, said officials, adding it is one of the heaviest snowfalls in the recent years in the plains of Kashmir.
It's the time of snowball fights and snowmen in Srinagar as the Kashmiri capital witnessed its season's first snowfall on Tuesday. Check out these stunning photos of Srinagar all wrapped up in a snowy blanket.
As many as 38 flights, including 23 domestic and nine international, were diverted from the Delhi airport to nearby cities between 6-8.45 pm.
'The lush green of Kashmir was exactly like the postcards and posters I had seen growing up.'
Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended due to lurking threat of floods in the Valley, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded, officials said.
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