Jammu, March 1
The nearly 25-km stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar highway between Banihal and Qazigund through Jawahar Tunnel was reopened today after having been blocked with avalanches for the past about a fortnight.
However, the entire highway could not be reopened as landslides have damaged the road at many places. The road has completely been washed away at several places beyond Ramsoo. Men of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) were engaged in putting the strategic road through.
Both sides of the high tunnel were the worst affected as avalanches and unprecedented snowfall had blocked it on both sides. As many as 12 ITBP personnel were buried under the avalanches.
During his visit here on Sunday, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had announced that the highway would be reopened to traffic within three days. But now it appears that it might take a couple of more days for restoration of normal traffic.
Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed visited the stranded persons here today.
Meanwhile, about 600 stranded passengers were flown to Srinagar from here today. About 712 passengers were carried yesterday.
