Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway resumed on Wednesday for light motor vehicles after remaining closed for 14 days due to heavy rains, flash floods, and multiple landslides that had crippled the Valley’s main supply route.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg had earlier told Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was working to reopen the crucial stretch. “As per NHAI, the highway is being opened for light motor vehicles. The movement of heavy vehicles will depend on the evolving situation. The safety of commuters is our top priority,” Garg said, while acknowledging that persistent rainfall had hampered restoration efforts.
The 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, had been shut since August 26. A brief reopening on August 30 was followed by fresh landslides that forced its closure again. The disruption, now spanning 15 days, severely hit passenger travel, trade activities, and the movement of essential commodities into Kashmir, Doda, and Kishtwar.
A massive landslide on September 2 near Thard-Jakheni in Udhampur—measuring nearly 550 x 300 metres—buried the highway under tons of debris. “From the very night of the incident, NHAI officials and hundreds of workers toiled round-the-clock through rains and repeated disruptions. On September 7, we constructed a 300-metre diversion road, and today traffic has finally been restored,” an NHAI official said, describing the Udhampur stretch as one of the most difficult rebuilds in recent memory.
Officials said over 4,000 vehicles, including trucks carrying essential supplies, had been stranded across Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, Ramban, Kashmir Valley, and parts of Punjab. Efforts are now underway to clear the backlog.
Other strategic routes have also been restored. The Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri highway, blocked by a landslide in the Zojila belt, reopened on Wednesday, while the Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag road has been cleared. Traffic on the Mughal Road, connecting Poonch with Shopian, is moving smoothly, though the Batote-Doda-Kishtwar stretch remains closed due to slides.
Meanwhile, officials said the recent floods and landslides have caused extensive damage to infrastructure across Jammu and Kashmir, with nearly 12,000 kilometres of road reported damaged so far.(KINS)
