The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained open but the commuters and vehicle operators were confronted with traffic congestion at various places due to the breakdown of Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) and narrow road stretches at a few places between Nashri and Banihal sectors on Wednesday.
The commuters and drivers who remained stuck in traffic congestion at Seri near Ramban Wednesday afternoon said that they remained stuck in traffic congestion at various places between the Banihal and Ramban.
However, traffic authorities said vehicular traffic was disrupted for brief periods due to the breakdown of a few HMVs at Dhalwass, Sherbibi, and some other places.
Traffic officials monitoring the regulation of traffic in Ramban said that due to the huge rush of vehicles, traffic congestion was witnessed at narrow road stretches for brief periods.
They said that the vehicles were cleared on a one-way basis on these stretches.
The traffic officials said hundreds of vehicles crossed the Nashri-Banihal sector for their respective destinations during the day.
The commuters and drivers who remained stuck after intervals in traffic congestion between Nashri and Banihal said that at many places, two vehicles could not pass simultaneously due to which vehicles got stuck in long queues.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramban, Mussarat Islam issued an advisory stating that no overloaded or misfit HMV would be allowed to ply over highway.
He said that breakdown of such vehicles causes traffic jams, bringing inconvenience to others.
SSP Traffic National Highway, Ramban, Rohit Baksotra told KIF that strict action would be taken against the overloaded and misfit vehicles plying on the highway as their breakdown causing a lot of inconvenience to everyone.
Meanwhile, on the directions of the authorities for undertaking necessary repair works and for clearing bottlenecks between Nashri and Banihal tunnels, the highway would remain closed for every type of vehicular traffic movement on Friday.
Authorities said that the government had directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to undertake necessary repair and maintenance works between Nashri and Banihal and for this purpose vehicular traffic would remain suspended on Friday, June 23.
DC Ramban Mussarat Islam said that to ensure urgent repair and maintenance works by the NHAI, no traffic would be allowed to ply between Chenani-Nashri and Banihal-Qazigund tunnels on Friday.
