Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will evacuate civilians from Jammu-Sringar Highway. Heavy snowfall on the national highway has left nearly 3000 vehicles stranded.
Military personnel stuck in the area have already been evacuated. The highway was reopened on Tuesday but the 300-kilometre stretch is completely blocked now.
Another flight is being organised to lift stranded around 1000 civilians. Several stranded people have registered themselves with Jammu and Kashmir government to be flown out.
The Met department has predicted more snowfall in the region on January 22-23.
"No fresh traffic would be allowed between Kashmir and Jammu areas today as authorities are clearing the large number of stranded vehicles between the two places," police said.
Over 3,100 vehicles, mostly trucks and tankers, are stranded at various places of the highway including Banihal, Ramban, Patnitop, Udhampur and Nagrota areas of Jammu district for last one week following closure of the highway due to snowfall and landslides.
"Over 400 vehicles have crossed to Jawahar tunnel towards the Kashmir Valley till this morning," Ramban Superintendent of Police Anil Magotra said.
"The movement of traffic on the highway is very slow in view of the slippery road," he said.
The highway, the only surface link to Kashmir, was closed first on January 13 due to landslides but reopened for one way-traffic on January 14 for a brief period. It was again closed due to heavy snowfall, avalanches and landslides on January 15.
With Additional Inputs from PTI
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