Snow-clearance operation launched in Bhaderwah

Bhaderwah (J&K) Feb 27 (PTI) The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has launched a snow-clearance operation to reopen the Bhaderwah-Pathankot highway, officials on Tuesday said.

The highway was closed for vehicular movement on February 2 after snowfall ranging between 6 to 8 feet was recorded from Guldanda to Chattergalla pass stretch of the road.

Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh said the BRO has deployed hi-tech machinery for the snow clearance operation in the tourist hot spots of 9,555 feet high Guldanda and 11,000 feet high Chattergalla passes.

He said even as the BRO has deployed the latest snow clearing machines, a layer of ice on the road results in slippery conditions with mercury plummeting to minus 15 degrees Celsius in some stretches of the highway.

“The tourists are converging in large numbers to visit Guldanda meadow, but as a precautionary measure we are allowing only four wheel drive and vehicles whose tyres are fitted with chains,” Singh said.

The vehicles are allowed to ply up to Thanthera and the tourists are enjoying the mundane beauty of the snow filled meadow there.

The tourists, who have converged in large numbers to experience the snow are appreciative of the world class road connectivity.

“I came here three years back but the infrastructure has been developed in leaps and bounds since then. The BRO has done excellent work to maintain the high altitude road and this is possible only because of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Singh said.

“Although we wanted to visit Guldanda, but Thanthera is also a great spot as we enjoyed snow and the beauty of the locale as well,” Mahesh Chetnani, a tourist from Gujarat, said.