Srinagar-Leh highway to be reopen for traffic on Friday

The Srinagar-Leh highway will reopen for vehicular traffic on Friday after remaining closed for 15 days as the Border Roads Organisation has cleared the snow at the high-altitude Zojila pass on Thursday, officials said.

The highway was closed on November 21 after the second spell of snowfall hit the Kashmir region disrupting normal life.

Officials said around 700 vehicles, including trucks and dumpers loaded with essentials commodities and passenger cars, were stranded in and around Zojila since November 21 when unprecedented snowfall disrupted the connectivity to Leh.

"The road will be thrown open for traffic on Friday as the snow has been cleared on the Zojila stretch. Due to heavy snowfall, the highway was closed four times since the Kashmir Valley received first snowfall," a BRO official said.

Officials said 10 machines and about 150 workers and equipment operators were deployed for snow clearance and rescue operations by the Project Beacon.

The Project Beacon worked hard and extended hours to clear Zojila at around 11,000 feet to establish connectivity to Leh on Thursday, they said.

The Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road witnessed four heavy spells of snowfall on the Zojila stretch since November 6. However, the Project Beacon teams acted swiftly to clear the road, the officials said.