J&K: Goods Trucks Stranded As Srinagar National Highway Closed, Amarnath Yatra Remains Suspended For 3rd Day

Work was underway to clear the road and repair the affected sections of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Amarnath Yatris remain at the base camp as they haven’t been given the clearance to move ahead.

Goods trucks remain stranded in J&K's Udhampur as the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is closed.

Source : ANI

The Jammu Srinagar National Highway (NH44) continues to remain shut after it was temporarily closed on Saturday, for vehicular traffic at Ramban due to multiple landslides triggered by heavy overnight rainfall from the night before. The national highway which is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country was struck by several landslides. According to a PTI report, a portion of the road leading to the Panthiyal tunnel was washed away. Many good trucks remained stranded in J&K's Udhampur on Sunday because of the same.

#WATCH | Goods trucks remain stranded in J&K's Udhampur as the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is closed due to bad weather pic.twitter.com/G6r26vumu8

— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2023

A traffic department official told PTI on Saturday, that despite the weather, work was underway to clear the road and repair the affected sections. 

Meanwhile, Amarnath Yatris remain at the base camp as they haven’t been given the clearance to move ahead and the yatra remains temporarily suspended due to incessant rains and landslides, thousands of pilgrims are stranded in Jammu. Amarnath Yatra began on July 1 and is scheduled to conclude on August 31, 2023.

#WATCH | Jammu & Kashmir: Amarnath Yatra temporarily suspended due to bad weather; visuals from Jammu base camp

Amarnath Yatra began on July 1 and will conclude on August 31, 2023. pic.twitter.com/cbxpsSY18t

— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2023

According to PTI, Union Minister Jitendra Singh assured the pilgrims that officials are monitoring the situation and further requested them not to panic and follow the instructions given to them by authorities. The Yatra remains suspended from both routes in Batla and Pahalgam.

A police official told PTI, that no fresh batches of pilgrims are allowed to leave from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp this morning due to the suspension. Nearly 15,000 pilgrims were stranded in the Jammu region, Divisional Commissioner of Jammu Ramesh Kumar has directed the deputy commissioners of five districts to increase accommodation capacity and activate Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs).

Heavy rains have lashed large parts of Jammu and Kashmir since Thursday night while several high-altitude areas, including Mahaguns Top and adjoining areas near the Amarnath cave shrine, experienced snowfall. Some places witnessed record rainfall over 24 hours for July, as per PTI.