Jammu-Srinagar highway closed for vehicular traffic
Darpan News Desk IANS, 25 Jan, 2023 12:07 PM
Jammu, Jan 25 (IANS) After opening briefly on Wednesday, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has again closed for vehicular traffic due to shooting stones and landslides at several places, officials said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Traffic police has further advised people not to travel on the highway between Nashiri and Banihal stretch until Bharat Jodo Yatra passes.
"Jammu Srinagar NH blocked due to shooting stones/landslides/mudslides at several places between Charkote and Banihal," Jammu and Kashmir Traffic police said.
The highway is the lifeline of the Kashmir Valley and the main road link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country.
Kashmir-bound trucks laden with essential supplies and other vehicles pass through the highway. Also, fruit-carrying trucks from Kashmir head for rest of the country through this road.
Lt Gen Aujla, an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, was commissioned in December 1987 and has had an illustrious military career spanning 35 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments.
The area around the Intelligence Bureau office has been sealed and investigation is in progress. A bomb disposal and forensic squads have been positioned at the spot. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann spoke to Director General of Police V.K. Bhawra and sought details about the incident.
Notably, the police detained several people, including party workers, who were not allowing the SDMC to carry out the demolition drive at Shaheen Bagh. After the agitation was quelled, the bulldozer moved forward to demolish the illegal encroachment, an iron structure in front of a building. It is at this juncture that Khan reached the spot and was seen speaking to the officials.
Punjab shares a 553-km barbed-wire fenced international border with Pakistan which is under the vigil of nearly 135 BSF battalions. The drug network operates along the Afghanistan-Pakistan-India route.
Police are looking at this angle. The incident took place near Kengeri at 1 a.m. and the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals. According to the police, the bus had first hit the 4-feet tall road divider and then rammed into the Namma Metro Pillar number 545.
Chairing a meeting of the Special Task Force (STF) team led by its chief Harpreet Sidhu here, Mann said neither political persons nor officers would be spared if found conniving with the drug mafia. He told the police officers to work freely without any political pressure with a sharpened focus to make Punjab a drug-free state.
