Tuesday, February 8 2005 12:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: The crucial 300-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for vehicular traffic for second day today (Feb 08, 2005) due to heavy snowfall in the region, official sources said.

Nearly 3,000 people have been stranded in 500 vehicles on the highway and Border Roads Organisation has stepped up efforts to clear the arterial road of snow and landslides, the sources said.

The highway, the only surface link that connects the Kashmir Valley to the rest of the country, was closed for traffic on Sunday evening (Feb 06, 2005) following landslides at several places and due to heavy snowfall, they said.

The stranded passengers were accommodated into the houses by the locals in Nogum, Thater and Sukha villages near Jawahar tunnel and Army authorities had swung into action in providing food and other facilities, they said.

A thick layer of snow covered the highway between Patnitop hill station and Banihal, the gateway to the Kashmir valley, the sources said.

Fresh snowing around the Jawahar Tunnel area has been hampering the Army efforts to clear the road, they said.

The highway had reopened on Sunday morning after three days but was shut down again from Banihal to Patnitop due to landslides and heavy accumulation of snow.

A three-feet thick layer of snow covered the Patnitop resort early this morning.

Vehicles on way to Srinagar have been stopped at Nagrota, about 12 km from Jammu, they said.

Six ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) personnel were killed and four seriously injured when a massive snow avalanche hit their mountain barrack near Jawahar Tunnel yesterday (Feb 07, 2005).