Mudasir Rashid
GANDERBAL: Due to less snowfall this winter in Jammu Kashmir, the national highway connecting Ladakh region with Kashmir will reopen soon, provided there is no fresh snowfall. Official sources said that snow clearance operation was going on both sides of the Zojila pass on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway, which has been closed since December last year due to snow and slippery road conditions.
The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has put into service sophisticated machines, including snow cutters and men to clear the snow, particularly on Zojila pass, where the Union government has already approved construction of a tunnel to make it all weather road.
It will take a week or so to clear the snow on the strategically important road, they said, adding that if there is no fresh snowfall or avalanches, the highway will reopen soon. There was less snowfall this winter and the mercury has also witnessed sharp increase now. However, traffic will be allowed on the highway only after road repair work is completed. Vehicles will have to pass through four to six feet of wall on both sides of the road.