Srinagar, Feb 22 (UNI) The 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained closed for the second day today due to landslides and shooting stones.
About 4,000 passengers have been stranded at different places on the highway. The stranded passengers at Ramban today staged a demonstration against the state government for failing to provide any shelter or relief and not making any arrangements for them.
The highway, which connects the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained closed for traffic due to landslides and shooting stones at Penthal, a traffic police official told UNI here.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, have pressed men and machines into service, to ease the highway traffic as soon as possible, he said.
In case the highway is reopened, only stranded vehicles will be allowed to move towards their respective destination, the official said adding no vehicle was allowed from Srinagar or Jammu today.
A portion of the road near the hill was also badly damaged due to the shooting stones from a hill top at Penthal, Mr Tariq Ahmad, working for a media organisation, told UNI over phone from Ramban.
He said undertaking repair work or allowing traffic was very risky.
Mr Tariq, is among the about one thousand passengers, including women and children stranded at Ramban. However, he said, the local hotel owners were charging normal rates from the stranded passengers.
Priests of local mosques asked the locals to allow stranded passengers to take shelter in their houses because of extreme cold conditions, he said adding stranded passengers took shelter in the mosque and local schools.
A local official later assured the passengers that administration will make some arrangement for them till the highway is reopened.
About one hundred passengers, who had no money, started journey on foot towards Banihal after some officials said that highway will remain closed because of continued shooting stones, official sources said.
They said about three thousand others are stranded at different places on the highway. Hundreds of trucks, carrying essential commodities from Jammu to Srinagar are also stranded on the highway, they added.
UNI
About 4,000 passengers have been stranded at different places on the highway. The stranded passengers at Ramban today staged a demonstration against the state government for failing to provide any shelter or relief and not making any arrangements for them.
The highway, which connects the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained closed for traffic due to landslides and shooting stones at Penthal, a traffic police official told UNI here.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, have pressed men and machines into service, to ease the highway traffic as soon as possible, he said.
In case the highway is reopened, only stranded vehicles will be allowed to move towards their respective destination, the official said adding no vehicle was allowed from Srinagar or Jammu today.
A portion of the road near the hill was also badly damaged due to the shooting stones from a hill top at Penthal, Mr Tariq Ahmad, working for a media organisation, told UNI over phone from Ramban.
He said undertaking repair work or allowing traffic was very risky.
Mr Tariq, is among the about one thousand passengers, including women and children stranded at Ramban. However, he said, the local hotel owners were charging normal rates from the stranded passengers.
Priests of local mosques asked the locals to allow stranded passengers to take shelter in their houses because of extreme cold conditions, he said adding stranded passengers took shelter in the mosque and local schools.
A local official later assured the passengers that administration will make some arrangement for them till the highway is reopened.
About one hundred passengers, who had no money, started journey on foot towards Banihal after some officials said that highway will remain closed because of continued shooting stones, official sources said.
They said about three thousand others are stranded at different places on the highway. Hundreds of trucks, carrying essential commodities from Jammu to Srinagar are also stranded on the highway, they added.
UNI
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