With the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway closed for a second day due to landslides triggered by heavy rainfall and cloudbursts in the Ramban district, the reopening of the Mughal Road offered significant relief to stranded travelers. This alternate route connects the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu with the Shopian district in south Kashmir.
Initially, authorities had limited traffic on the recently reopened Mughal Road to a single direction, from Kashmir towards Jammu. However, the continued closure of the all-weather national highway necessitated a diversion of traffic. To manage the increased flow, additional police personnel were deployed to ensure smooth movement in both directions on the Mughal Road, according to officials.
Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on the 250-kilometer Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the crucial all-weather link between Kashmir and the rest of India, following the weather-induced disruptions that began on Sunday.
The historic Mughal Road, typically closed during winter due to heavy snowfall, particularly in the Peer Ki Gali area, had been reopened for one-way traffic on April 15th after a three-month closure. Unfortunately, inclement weather, including recent snowfall, forced its reclosure on April 18th. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) swiftly mobilized its resources and personnel to restore the road to a trafficable condition.
The central government had previously announced plans for a tunnel on this route to guarantee year-round connectivity between the regions on either side of the Pir Panjal range, a region now part of the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency following the 2022 delimitation.
Officials reported substantial traffic congestion in the Rajouri and Poonch districts due to the sudden surge in vehicles traveling to and from the Kashmir valley. Nearly all roads in these districts that connect to the Mughal Road experienced heavy congestion, posing a challenge for law enforcement agencies in regulating traffic, especially in areas like Thanamandi, Surankote, Chatta Pani, and the route leading to Peer Ki Gali.
The road has single-lane sections between Chatta Pandi and Peer Ki Gali, contributing to the slow pace of traffic movement, they added.
“We are planning to undertake a clearance operation tonight to widen the road, which is snow-bound at various locations,” a BRO official stated.
Despite the central government’s 2023 announcement regarding the road’s upgrade and tunnel construction, political parties have consistently urged for a firm timeline for the project’s completion on an urgent basis to establish a reliable alternative all-weather route to the valley.
“We have time and again requested the government to construct a tunnel on the Mughal Road and set up all kinds of amenities for travelers,” asserted Apni Party spokesperson Raqeeq Khan.
While traffic has been redirected to the Mughal Road, the infrastructure in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch is not adequately prepared to handle such a significant increase in traffic, he pointed out.
Khan further highlighted the lack of essential facilities such as restaurants, hotels, and public toilets along the route, causing considerable inconvenience to commuters.
