Slippery ice keeps Jammu-Srinagar highway closed

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"As of today (Wednesday), the highway is closed for traffic as the road is not traffic worthy from Patnitop to Jawahar Tunnel," a police officer told IANS.

The officer said several stretches of the road were slippery as the snow has frozen into ice. "Our first priority was to get the stranded vehicles cleared from the highway," the police officer said.

The state government has also assured the stranded passengers in Jammu that they would be provided all facilities and would be sent to the valley as soon as the road opens.

Project Beacon, a wing of the Border Roads Organisation, has been clearing the highway but recurring snowfall was causing delay.

The Jammu-Srinagar highway is a double lane road but at places only single way traffic is allowed, as the 38-km stretch between Ramban and Banihal is prone to landslides. Ramban is 150 km north of Jammu.