Jammu: Amid heavy snowfall and the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the spirit of youth stranded inside the Navyug tunnel remained unfazed. A group of passengers was seen playing cricket within the tunnel, demonstrating the resilience and camaraderie that characterise Jammu and Kashmir.
Heavy snowfall has halted the traffic movement, and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway (NH44) was closed, due to which vehicles are stranded on both sides of the tunnel.
The 8.5-km-long Navyug tunnel connects Banihal in the Ramban district of Jammu province with Qazigund in the Kulgam district of the Kashmir Valley.
Around 2000 vehicles were stranded on the NH44, especially inside the Navyug tunnel and also on both sides of the tunnel after heavy snowfall halted the movement of the traffic. Even the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, had to face a lot of difficulties to reach Srinagar from Jammu by travelling on the highway.
One of the ministers in his cabinet, Javed Ahmed Dar, is still stuck in Banihal, and he hasn’t been able to move towards Srinagar.
“Jammu-Srinagar NHW (NH44) is still closed. Heavy snowfall is hampering the clearance work at Navyug. Men and machinery are on the job, and commuters are advised to avoid the journey till the weather improves and the road is clear,” J&K traffic police posted in X.
Since Friday morning, snowfall lashed the Kashmir Valley and also many areas of the Ramban district, due to which the NH44 got blocked and vehicles were forced to stop their movement. The snow clearance operation has already started, but authorities are facing lots of difficulties in snow clearance operations.
Since the construction of the Navyug tunnel, the movement on the highway has somehow eased out as authorities can clear the snow in less time as compared to the Jawahar tunnel on the upper reaches of Banihal, where the accumulation of snow is more.
The Jawahar tunnel is also closed to traffic, and no vehicle is allowed to pass through that area.
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