Umaisar Gull Ganie
Qazigund, Feb 28: The fresh spell of rains and snowfall led to the cancellation of two morning flights at Srinagar International Airport on Friday while all the major roads including Srinagar-Jammu National Highway continued to remain closed for the second straight day.
According to reports, two flights including 6E 2641 from Delhi and 6E 262 from Srinagar were cancelled this morning due to inclement weather conditions.
However, an official said that other morning flights faced a delay of 30 to 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, all highways and major roads remained closed for vehicular movement for the second straight day today.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed due to landslides at over a dozen places in Ramban district, traffic department officials said.
An official said that the highway was closed for traffic on Thursday due to incessant rain, shooting stones, landslides, and mudslides between Nashri and the Navyug Tunnel. Moreover, a section of the road sunk at Mehad, Ramban.
He said authorities were working since Thursday to clear the landslides and shooting stones to restore traffic on the highway, connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country. “Commuters are advised to avoid traveling on the Jammu-Srinagar highway until the weather improves and the road is clear,” he said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) (Traffic) Rural Kashmir, Ravinder Pal Singh said that more than 200 Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) are stranded on the Qazigund side of the highway.
He said that the condition of the highway in the Banihal-Ramban sector remains poor due to shooting stones and landslides, but restoration work is being carried out on a war footing. “People should not travel until there are official directions allowing traffic on the highway. Travelers should plan accordingly. Priority will be given to vehicles already stranded on the highway. First, light motor vehicles (LMVs) will be allowed to move towards their destinations, followed by HMVs if the road is cleared,” he said.
The other roads including Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag road, Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri, Mughal Road and Bhaderwah-Chamba road also remained closed, officials said.
Moreover, the train services were also affected this morning. Train services were partially affected due to snow accumulation.
