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Fresh snowfall in Kashmir blocks main highway

     Srinagar: Fresh snowfall in Kashmir blocked the state's main highway on Wednesday, cutting off the valley from the rest of the country. The highway was reopened after being closed for six days on Monday and had to be closed again following heavy snowfall. Several trucks and other light vehicles bound for Jammu have been stranded on the highway. Truck drivers, who have been stranded for many days said they had run out of money and appealed for help to the provincial government. "Roads have been closed for past many days. Snowfall happened yesterday too. We have been stranded for the past 18-20 days. We don't have any money to buy food. We appeal to the government to help us move out from here," said Jhajjar Singh, a truck diver. "Day before yesterday, the roads were open but it is closed again now. We are in a bad shape and appeal to the government to help us," said another truck driver. Residents also said that continuous snowfall has posed many problems, including power failures.

Jammu-Srinagar highway stretch reopens (Go To Top)

     Jammu: The 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar stretch of the National Highway reopened on Wednesday hours after landslides brought on by torrential rains had blocked the route on Tuesday. The highway was thrown open to vehicular traffic at about 11 a.m. today. Over 265 vehicles were stranded on the road after fresh landslides occurred at Patnihal and at places between Ramban and Banihal. The upper reaches of Ramban and Banihal, however, received fresh snow last night, while the plains, including Jammu city, experienced intermittent rains.

Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service from April 7

     Islamabad: India and Pakistan on Wednesday took their bilateral bonhomie of the past year-and-half a step further by agreeing to start the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service from April 7, 2005. A formal announcement regarding this was made by India's External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri at a joint press conference here. The Indian Cabinet last week approved holding talks with Iran, Myanmar and Turkmenistan for laying a pipeline to import natural gas. Islamabad has long been keen on a gas pipeline from Iran through its territory, because it stands to earn between 600 to 700 million dollars in transit fee.