Rajouri/Jammu: As the landslide-hit Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained shut for a second consecutive day on Monday, the reopening of the Mughal Road connecting the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu to south Kashmir’s Shopian district brought huge relief to the stranded people.
The authorities had initially decided to restrict traffic on the recently opened Mughal Road to one way — Kashmir to Jammu. However, the all-weather national highway’s closure prompted the diversion of traffic and the deployment of additional police personnel to ensure smooth movement on both sides, officials said.
Hundreds of vehicles were left stranded on the strategic 250-kilometre Jammu-Srinagar National Highway — the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country — after Sunday’s heavy rainfall and cloudbursts triggered flash floods, landslides and mudslides in Ramban district.
The historic Mughal Road, which usually remains closed during the winters due to heavy snowfall, especially in Peer Ki Gali, was reopened after three months for one-way traffic on April 15.
However, inclement weather, including fresh snowfall, forced its closure on April 18. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) mobilised its men and machinery and managed to make it traffic-worthy again.
The Centre has already announced a tunnel on the road to ensure year-round connectivity between the two regions on either side of the Pir Panjal that forms part of the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat following a 2022 delimitation exercise.
The officials said massive traffic congestion was witnessed in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch due to a sudden increase in the number of vehicles moving to and from the Kashmir valley.
Almost all the roads of Rajouri and Poonch linked to the Mughal Road are heavily choked, with law enforcement agencies facing a tough time regulating traffic, especially in Thanamandi, Surankote and Chatta Pani to Peer Ki Gali, they said.
The road is single-way at a few locations between Chatta Pandi and Peer Ki Gali, causing traffic movement to be slow, they added. “We are planning to undertake a clearance operation tonight to widen the road, which is snow-bound at various locations,” a BRO official said.
Despite the Centre making an announcement to upgrade the road and construct a tunnel in 2023, political parties have been demanding a timeline for completion of the project on a war footing to provide an alternative all-weather road to the valley.
“We have time and again requested the government to construct a tunnel on the Mughal Road and set up all kinds of amenities for travellers,” Apni Party spokesperson Raqeeq Khan said.
Traffic has been diverted to the Mughal Road but the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch are not ready to handle such a heavy rush, he said.
There is also a lack of facilities such as restaurants, hotels and public toilets along the road, causing inconvenience for commuters, he added.