Efforts are on to restore traffic on the affected Jammu-Srinagar National Highway following landslides triggered by heavy rains in some parts of Jammu and Kashmir. In view of this, the group of Amarnath pilgrims was stopped from moving forward on Tuesday.
Jammu: Due to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the Amarnath Yatra will remain suspended on Tuesday as no batch of pilgrims will leave from Jammu to Kashmir. According to a senior official, no new batch will leave from Jammu to Kashmir for the onward journey to the Amarnath cave shrine. The journey will remain suspended.
This is being done in view of the closure of the highway to carry out work for complete restoration of the damaged stretches. Over 7,000 pilgrims are stuck in Jammu, especially at Bhagwatinagar base camp, while over 5,000 pilgrims are stuck at Chandrakot base camp in Ramban district. The traffic officials also issued an advisory in which they said that the road condition has improved significantly as a result of the collective efforts made by the administration and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) throughout the day.
However, full restoration is expected to take some more time. In view of this, the administration has decided to suspend the traffic on the National Highway on Tuesday. Heavy Motor Vehicles are advised to use Mughal Road for traveling from Jammu to Srinagar and vice versa. Traffic is likely to resume on Wednesday, however, the next update will be issued on Tuesday evening.
Normal life has been thrown out of gear due to heavy rains in the foothills of North India. The holy Amarnath Yatra has also been affected by this. The yatra was suspended on Friday and Saturday as well due to incessant rains and landslides. Union Territory’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is monitoring the situation. The administration is fully alert.
