Both Tubes of Jammu-Srinagar highway submerged under massive landslides in Thard, Udhampur,Mugal Road , SSG Road, Sinthan Road also officially closed
Jammu 03 September :- All major road links connecting the Kashmir Valley to the outside world, including the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44), the Mughal Road, the SSG Road, and the Sinthan Road, have been officially closed for vehicular movement due to extreme weather conditions.
Continuous heavy rainfall has triggered multiple incidents of landslides, mudslides, and shooting stones at various locations across these routes, rendering them unsafe for travel. Authorities have issued a stern advisory, urging the public to completely avoid undertaking any journey until the weather significantly improves and extensive restoration work is completed. They have also cautioned citizens not to pay heed to unverified rumors and to rely solely on official sources for updates, specifically recommending that travelers check the real-time status of roads through the Traffic Police’s Twitter handle, Facebook page, and official Traffic Control Units (TCUs).
The situation is most critical on the vital Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44), the region’s primary lifeline, which has been rendered completely impassable. The most severe damage is concentrated at the Thard area in Udhampur, where a massive section of hillside, approximately 100-150 meters in length, has catastrophically given way.
This significant landslip has buried all lanes of the highway under deep debris, with the road itself being submerged by the rapidly shifting earth. The slope continues to move, posing a persistent danger to emergency crews and making any immediate restoration response exceedingly difficult.
The adverse weather is the primary cause, with Udhampur district subjected to exceptionally heavy downpours that have severely damaged a extensive 20-kilometer stretch of the highway between Udhampur and Samroli. With machinery operations hampered by the unrelenting rain, there is currently no estimated time for the highway to be reopened.
The impact of the landslides extends beyond transportation, causing severe distress to local residents. In a tragic turn of events on the hillsides of Thard, several houses have collapsed due to the land movements, compounding the emergency and highlighting the direct threat to life and property posed by the ongoing natural calamity.
This multi-faceted crisis underscores the extreme vulnerability of the region’s infrastructure to intense weather events and has effectively severed critical supply lines to the valley.
