Jammu and Kashmir: Mughal road reopens for traffic after three days

Jammu: The Mughal road, the alternate link between Kashmir and rest of the country, was reopened for vehicular traffic Tuesday after three days closure due to snowfall as weather conditions improved in Jammu region, officials said.

"The Mughal road was reopened for vehicular traffic this morning with a fleet of passenger vehicles leaving Poonch in Jammu region for south Kashmir Shopian district," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Sheikh Mohammad Aslam told PTI.

He said a number of Poonch-bound vehicles which remained stranded in Hirpura area of Shopian over the past two days were also allowed to move towards their destinations.

The snow clearance operation was completed, however, fresh snowfall and slippery condition of the road around Peer Ki Gali scuttled the efforts of the authorities to reopen the road yesterday, Aslam said.

The road was closed on Friday evening after high altitude areas received over two feet of snow, the first heavy snowfall of the winter this season.

Meanwhile, Jammu region recorded a low of 8.8 degrees Celsius against the previous night's 8.7 degrees Celsius.

However, the minimum temperature continued to stay three degrees below normal in the region, a MeT official said.

He said the minimum temperature in most places in Jammu region registered an improvement with Banihal town in Ramban district on Jammu-Srinagar national highway recording a low of 5.7 degrees Celsius against 4.9 degrees Celsius yesterday.

Katra, the base camp for Vaishno Devi shrine, was warmer than other places in the region with a minimum of 9.6 degrees Celsius, while Bhaderwah town in Doda district was the coldest recorded place in the region with a low of 2.1 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.