Mughal Road in J&K reopens for one-way traffic after four months

Jammu, May 13 (PTI) One-way traffic resumed on the Mughal Road, an alternative link road connecting the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in the Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Shopian, after an over four-month closure due to heavy winter snowfall, officials said on Saturday.

Light motor vehicles were allowed to ply from Behramgalla-Buffliaz in Poonch towards Shopian. The road was closed on January 5 following heavy snowfall, especially in the high-altitude Pir Ki Gali and adjoining areas, a Traffic department official said.

Traffic will be allowed from Poonch and Shopian on alternate days from 10 am to 2 pm as the road is still narrow at some places with maintenance and snow clearance operations under progress, the official said.

There was at least a month’s delay in reopening the road due to frequent snowfall hampering the clearance operation.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has already announced the construction of a Rs 5,000-crore tunnel at Pir Ki Gali to transform Mughal Road into an all-weather road.

The move came as a big relief to the residents of Poonch and Rajouri demanding the road’s reopening for the past month.

“The road was supposed to open in March but the delay in its reopening limited our operations mostly to Poonch and Rajouri districts,” a cab operator said.

He expressed hope that the resumption of traffic on the road will provide additional earnings opportunities and ensure timely instalment payments on the bank loans on their vehicles.