Vital Jammu-Srinagar highway crippled by landslides, full restoration may take 20-25 days: CM Omar Abdullah

After reviewing the extensive damage caused by incessant rains and recurring landslides to the strategic Jammu–Srinagar highway, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that full restoration of vehicular traffic on the vital road link may take 20 to 25 days. He, however, added that traffic was being regulated through alternate routes.

Omar Abdullah travelled by road from Srinagar to personally have the first-hand account of the damages and the ongoing repairs of the highway. Flash-floods have washed away stretches of the mountainous highway. The 270-km-long vital highway has remained closed to traffic for the past six days.

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He inspected the damaged stretches of National Highway-44 at Marog and Bali Nallah in Ramban district, which have been hit by flash floods and cloudbursts in recent days.

CM Omar said, “Inspection is being done. Highways have been damaged. I have spoken to NHAI and the district administrations. They say it will take 20–25 days for restoration; however, alternate routes are available”.

“Unlike before, the most problematic area this time is not the Ramban-Banihal stretch, but the Udhampur sector. Until repair work in Udhampur is complete, normal traffic movement cannot resume,” he said.

The Chief Minister inspected another damaged site on the National Highway at Udhampur, the worst-affected this time. He directed officials to expedite road restoration and ensure food and water arrangements for drivers stranded on the highway.

He expressed anguish over the damage caused by flash floods in Warwan, Kishtwar.

Deputy Commissioner and SSP Kishtwar are on the site to assess the ground situation.

Instructions have been issued to ensure immediate relief, rehabilitation, and restoration of connectivity, and to reach out to the nomadic Bakerwals in the upper reaches for their safety.

Meanwhile, immediate vacation of all commercial establishments in certain parts of the Katra town, the base camp for the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage, has been ordered by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Katra, in view of landslides and incessant rains.

In a coordinated operation, 8 people trapped in the flooded Chenab River in the Doda district were rescued on Saturday night by the Army, NDRF, SDRF, and Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the J&K Police.

The police in Kathua district have so far rescued more than 200 people trapped in floodwaters in the area.

Deputy Commissioner, Doda, Harvinder Singh, chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the damage caused to crops, orchards, and livestock due to heavy rains. Officers from Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal & Sheep Husbandry, and allied departments presented detailed reports.

The DC directed them to conduct comprehensive field assessments and submit consolidated reports without delay.

J&K Congress Working President Raman Bhalla criticised the central government for its “failure” to respond to the flood situation in the Jammu division and demanded immediate relief for the affected people.