Srinagar, Mar 3 (UNI) Traffic on the 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was restored after remaining suspended for more than eight hours on Wednesday due to fresh landslides, a traffic police official said on Wednesday.

He said there was huge land on a mudslide at Shabanbas Banihal at around 0300 hrs in the wee hours of Wednesday. Besides a tanker passing the area also got stuck after a portion of the road was washed away.

However, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has pressed into service machines and men to clear the landslides and put them through the highway again. It was at around 1100 hrs only one-way traffic was restored on the highway.

As per traffic schedule Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) are plying from Srinagar to Jammu today, he said adding vehicles had to pass Zig Qazigund between 0700 hrs to 1100 hrs. No vehicle will be allowed from opposite directions, he said.

However, only Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs), stranded Jawahar tunnel and Banihal for the past several days will be allowed to move towards Jammu, he said.

Security forces are advised not to ply against advisory in view of the traffic congestion on the highway, he said adding they may ply from Srinagar to Jammu.

Meanwhile, the 86-km-long historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region also remained closed since December last year due to the accumulation of snow. People living on both sides of the road, which is seen as an alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, besides Rajouri and Poonch are demanding early clearance of snow. The authorities have already announced the construction of a tunnel to make it a weather road.

UNI BAS RHK1357