JAMMU, Mar 10: According to officials, traffic on the 270-kilometer Jammu-Srinagar national highway was still blocked on Sunday morning while work was being done on widening various problematic sections of the Ramban area. In order to facilitate the expansion of the roadway to two lanes at Dalwas, Mehar-Cafeteria, Panthiyal, and Nachlana between the Nashri and Banihal tunnels, vehicular traffic on the only all-weather route connecting Kashmir with the rest of the nation was halted late on Saturday night, according to officials.The decision to halt traffic on the highway for 14 hours starting at 10 p.m. on Saturday, according to traffic department officials, was made to protect commuters. Over a dozen locations in Ramban have experienced road damage due to landslides, mudslides, and stone shooting, which prompted the authorities to switch to one-way traffic on the highway as of February 26. Travellers have been dealing with severe traffic jams for the past two weeks due to traffic coming from both Jammu and Srinagar, particularly in Dalwas, Mehar, and Nachlana. The national route between Jammu and Srinagar is currently undergoing road widening in numerous locations. Until the restoration work is finished, people are urged not to travel between Nashri and Navyug (Banihal) Tunnel, a department spokeswoman said.
