Rainfall forces closure of Jammu and Kashmir highway

Traffic on the national highway, the only road linking Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was suspended on Wednesday, due to fresh landslides and shootings, triggered by heavy rains during the night.
Meanwhile, the Srinagar-Leh national highway and the historic 86-km-long Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region, remained shut since December last year, due to accumulation of snow.
However, authorities have already started snow clearance operation on both the roads to put them through later this month or early next month.
‘We have suspended traffic movement on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, following landslides and shooting stones at Penthyal and other places between Ramban and Ramsu on Wednesday morning,’ a traffic police official told UNI.