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Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 6
Six persons, including a woman, were injured after a boulder hit a passenger vehicle near the Ramsu area on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway late Tuesday evening.
According to information, a Jammu-bound Tavera was hit by a boulder from a hillock in the Moumpassi-Ramsu area along the national highway in Ramban district, causing serious injuries to a woman, who hails from Bihar, and minor injuries to five others.
The critically injured woman was shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu.
“The highway has been closed for traffic following intermittent landslides at six places, including Anokhi Fall, Battery Cheshma and Moumpassi, while it snowed heavily at Jawahar Tunnel that connects Kashmir with the Jammu region. We will review the situation on Thursday and a decision to restore traffic will be taken accordingly,” Alok Kumar, IGP (Traffic), J&K, told The Tribune.
The IGP said the process to clear the landslides was in progress and it would take some time due to continuous shooting of stones from hillocks.
“Barring a few local vehicles, there is no stranded vehicle on the highway. On Tuesday, around 4,500 trucks crossed the highway from Srinagar to Jammu while the number of light motor vehicles was around 3,500,” Kumar said.
Showkat Aijaz, Ramban Deputy Commissioner, said six persons were injured in the incident. “It is still snowing at Jawahar Tunnel which has left the road slippery. Even if the debris of landslides is cleared, it will take time to restore traffic,” Aijaz said.
Give blueprint to help passengers: Adviser
In the wake of frequent disruptions on the national highway due to inclement weather, the state has decided to prepare a blueprint to provide lodging facilities to stranded passengers en route the highway. In a review meeting, Adviser to Governor Keval Kumar Sharma directed officials to come up with a “holistic proposal” for providing lodging and other facilities to passengers who get stranded due to the closure of the highway.