Heavy Rain Unleashes Chaos On Jammu-Srinagar National Highway — Major Chunk Of Road Washed Away

Visuals of the road that was washed away have gone viral. The police officials have closed the National Highway until further clearance from the NHAI authorities.

The National Highway connecting Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India suffered significant damage amid heavy rain in the valley. A major chunk of the road section that connects T3 and T5 — which serves as a bypass to the Panthyal Tunnel — was washed away due to heavy rain on Friday (July 8) in Ramban District of Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, several sections of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway — such as Mehar, Cafeteria Morh, T1, T2 (Keela Mord & Sita Ram pass), and Panthyal — have become inaccessible

Visuals of the road that was washed away have gone viral. The clip was posted by a page named Kashmir Weather on Twitter.

The Jammu Srinagar National Highway is currently inaccessible at Mehar, Cafeteria Morh, T1, T2 (Keela Mord & Sita Ram pass), and Panthyal due to roadblocks. Additionally, heavy rains have caused damage to a section of the road leading to the T5 Panthyal tunnel. pic.twitter.com/R429e7GXgI — Kashmir Weather (@Kashmir_Weather) July 8, 2023

The police officials have closed the National Highway until further clearance from the NHAI authorities. People have been advised to consult the Traffic Control Unit (TCU) before making any travel plans, tweeted Mohita Sharma, SSP Ramban.

Road connecting T3 and T5 (which bypasses panthyal tunnel) washed off. NH Closed till futher clearance. @OfficeOfLGJandK @JmuKmrPolice @ZPHQJammu @igpjmu @Rameshkumarias @diprjk @RambanPolice @dcramban pic.twitter.com/Fujx4IrtdW — Mohita Sharma (@mohita_ips) July 8, 2023

Rohit Baskotra, SSP Traffic, National Highway, was quoted as saying to Hindustan Times that NHAI has commenced the restoration work on the old alignment of NH44 to Panthyal in Ramban. This aims to make the roads motorable until the damaged sections are repaired.

The direct impact of the closure of the National Highway will be felt by the pilgrims of the annual Amarnath yatra. As per a report in The Tribune, the yatra, which started on July 1, was suspended on Friday (July 8) due to adverse weather conditions in the valley. It is stopped along the traditional 48-km route of Pahalgam in the Anantnag district and the 14-km Baltal route in the Ganderbal district.

More than 80,000 pilgrims have already visited the Holy Shrine Cave in Southern Himalayas since the start of the Yatra.

Heavy rain has been causing havoc in many areas across the country. A couple of days ago, in Mumbai’s Chembur area, a road in front of a building collapsed due to heavy rain, forming a massive crater. Many vehicles fell into the crater, as a major chunk of the road sank into the ground.

Similarly, on July 5, a large portion of the road caved in at the Janakpuri area, Delhi, due to waterlogging.