Srinagar, Dec 5: Traffic on the Srinagar-Leh highway, the only road connecting Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir, was suspended on Saturday due to fresh snowfall since Friday night.
However, traffic was resumed on Saturday after remaining suspended on Friday for maintenance purpose on Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only all weather road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, a traffic police official told UNI this morning.
Meanwhile, traffic was disrupted for several hours this morning on the historic 86-km-long Mughal road due to fresh snowfall.
He said there was four to five inches of fresh snowfall at Zojila pass, two to three inches of snow at Meenmarg, Zero point and Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia on Srinagar-Leh national highway.
Snow clearance operation was immediately launched at Zojila and other places by the Border Roads Organisations (BRO). However, due to less snowfall between Meenmarg and Drass, the road has become very slippery, he said adding the upper reaches in these areas recorded six to eight inches of snowfall since last night.
Once the snow clearance operation is completed and green signal is received, traffic will be allowed.
However, he said traffic will remain suspended between 1800 hrs to 0900 hrs next morning between Gagangeer and Sonmarg on the highway, which remained closed during winter months due to heavy snowfall and avalanches.
Meanwhile, traffic was resumed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway after remaining suspended on Friday in view of maintenance of the road.
Earlier, the government had announced that traffic will remain suspended on Fridays to allow repair/maintenance of the highway till November 30. However, now the traffic will remain suspended on every Friday in December also.
Today Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) plied from Srinagar to Jammu.