Srinagar:The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was reopened for traffic today, four days after landslides following heavy rains and snowfall had led to its closure.
“The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has been thrown open for traffic this morning,” a Traffic Department official said here.
He said the highway was opened for one-way traffic from Jammu to Srinagar after the road was cleared off the debris due to landslides following improvement in the weather.
First those trucks and passengers vehicles were allowed which were stranded at different places along the highway, the official said.
The 300-km arterial road the only all-weather road-link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country was closed for traffic on Thursday following landslides at some places due to heavy rains.
Kashmir Valley witnessed intermittent rainfall, and fresh snowfall in higher reaches, since Wednesday leading to drop in temperatures.
The higher areas of the Valley, including the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg, received fresh snowfall during the night, an official of the Meteorological Department said.
He said about 11 inches of fresh snowfall has accumulated during the last 24 hours in the resort in north Kashmir – a star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley.
Meanwhile, Srinagar the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded 6.2 mm of rainfall during the last 24 hours, the official said.
He said many other areas in the plains of the Valley also received rainfall, but the weather is showing signs of improvement.
The Meteorological Department has forecast mainly dry weather till Friday.
It has predicted a fresh spell of wet weather for a few days from Saturday.