The national highway is the road link connecting Kashmir with rest of the country
A massive landslide led to the blocking of crucial Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Banihal town in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir. Boulders fell from a hill running alongside the serpentine highway onto the road and then rolled into a deep gorge. The Jammu and Kashmir Traffic Police said the highway was blocked at Shabanbas area. The highway is the only road link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country.
A video shared by news agency ANI showed large boulders tumbling down the hill. A long queue of vehicles can be seen stuck on the narrow highway at a distance.
Landslides have been a recurring problem along the highway this season. On February 28, the highway was blocked at Dewal near Samroli, Udhampur, due because of landslide.
Earlier in February, too, normal life in the Kashmir Valley was disrupted due to snowfall. Air traffic, road connectivity and electricity services were affected. Snowfall damaged transmission lines and poles, causing power cuts across the valley. Areas in south and central Kashmir received heavy snowfall.