The Srinagar-Leh National Highway connecting Ladakh with Kashmir Valley was reopened for traffic on Tuesday after remaining closed for seven days due to heavy rains, boosting connectivity to the flood-hit region awaiting crucial supplies.
Vehicular movement remained suspended on the 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, as over 400 vehicles and passengers were stranded at various places. "The highway was closed for traffic for the third day due to heavy snowfall and landslides at various places en route," a police official said.
Since the bypass is connected with the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, an alert was also sounded and checking of vehicles was intensified.
The Indian Army has neutralized a terrorist in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir during an encounter with security forces. The Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar commended the troops for their swift action and reiterated the army's commitment to keeping the region terror-free.
The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was reopened for one way traffic after overnight heavy snowfall had blocked it.
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.
People are buying essential commodities from Jammu and flying in.
The LG said around 2.36 lakh pilgrims had registered for the yatra before the attack took place at Baisaran in Pahalgam area that left 26 persons -- mostly tourists -- dead.
The first-ever trial train to Kashmir took off for the Valley on Tuesday not on traditional tracks but on the 300 km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Strong demand for cultural and spiritual hubs is expected for destinations like Varanasi, Kolkata during Durga Puja, and Pushkar for the camel fair, besides leisure destinations like Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur and Coorg.
The restriction will continue between Srinagar and Udhampur on the NH-44 as earlier.
With over 3,100 vehicles, mostly trucks and tankers, stranded on the 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway due to snowfall and landslides, state authorities are trying to clear them before allowing fresh traffic on the arterial road.
Ten people were injured in the incident, including six men, three women and one child.
One of the oldest routes of the country, the highway has been cleared of all roadblocks and work will be starting to connect the Valley with Poonch and Rajouri districts as the Supreme Court gave its nod.
'Due to orographic rainfall, localised areas are experiencing intense downpours.' 'In a very heavy downpour, the burst of water has to find its way and therefore whatever comes in its path gets washed away.'
With adverse weather forecast for the next 24 hours, the road is unlikely to be opened for traffic on Monday.
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.
'What we are witnessing is not a freak incidence or a freak occurrence, but a new climate reality where warming oceans, monsoon variability and local geography are combining to produce extreme events.'
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's car grazed a truck on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district on Saturday evening, officials said.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition, which includes an AK-47 rifle, magazines, grenades, RPG-7 rocket launcher, was recovered from the encounter site, he said.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered the closure of Darbar Move offices in Srinagar on October 31, following Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's announcement to restore the tradition. The Darbar Move, which involves shifting government offices between Srinagar and Jammu, was scrapped in 2021 but is now being reinstated.
Four weapons and some ammunition and explosives have been recovered from the spot.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started interviewing eyewitnesses, including tourists, in connection with the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, south Kashmir. The attack, carried out by terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22. Initial investigations suggest that five to seven terrorists were involved, aided by local militants trained in Pakistan. Security forces are conducting massive operations to hunt down the terrorists in the dense jungles of the Pir Panjal range.
Kashmiris across the region condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, with widespread protests and a shutdown in Srinagar and other parts of the valley. The attack was seen as an assault on the foundation of Kashmir's economy, with residents highlighting the importance of tourism to the region's livelihood. Protests were held in various districts, including Srinagar, Kulgam, Handwara, and Ramban, with residents united in their condemnation of the violence and calling for an end to terrorism.
Heavy rains lashed wide parts of Jammu and Kashmir over the past couple of days, triggering landslides at many places and raising the level of water bodies.
A senior police officer was on Wednesday transferred and attached with police headquarters, a step that followed an outcry over halting of fruit-laden trucks from Kashmir valley to outside markets.
Two Central Reserve Police Force personnel, including an officer, were killed in a militant attack in Sangam area of Anantnag district in Jammu & Kashmir.
A 150-metre long underground tunnel suspected to be used by terrorists for infiltration was detected.
Relentless heavy rain led to a landslide on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hill on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least five people and injuring 14, officials said.
India needs to be technologically and militarily prepared to defend itself from both Pakistan and China, alerts Ramesh Menon.
The Kashmir Valley received fresh snow Sunday that blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway yet again. The blockade of the highway stranded hundreds of vehicles at various points on the highway.
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.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to utilise the services of the Air Force to lift hundreds of stranded passengers as the Jammu-Srinagar national highway continued to remain closed for the passenger traffic for past nearly 10 days.
NHAI has already initiated process to handle such emergency situation and also taking all possible measures to avoid such incidents in future, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which connects Kashmir valley to the outside world, remained closed for traffic for the second consecutive day on Tuesday following landslides at Panthal.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that India and Pakistan came closer to resolving the Kashmir issue during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. He added that he does not expect a return to that situation in his lifetime. Abdullah lauded Singh's efforts on Kashmir, including the setting up of working groups on the issue, and said he practically initiated measures for the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. The chief minister also praised Singh's contribution to India's economic development.
This is the first major snowfall in Kashmir this winter, which was largely dry so far.
Tension mounted in Jammu and Kashmir capital Srinagar, as state authorities shut the Jammu-Srinagar national highway to prevent entry of Bharatiya Janata Party activists who are planning to hoist the national flag in Lal Chowk locality of the city.
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