Mughal Road closed for 3rd day due to fresh snowfall

Jammu: The Mughal Road, the alternative link between Kashmir and the rest of the country, remained closed for the third day on Monday due to slippery conditions owing to fresh snowfall as night temperature in Jammu continued the downward spiral.

Last night, the minimum temperature here settled at three degrees below normal, MeT department officials said.

The Mughal Road, which connects Poonch in Jammu with south Kashmir's Shopian district, was closed on Friday evening after high-altitude areas, including Peer Ki Gali, along the road received over two feet of snow. "The road remained closed for the third day due to inclement weather. An effort was made and one-way traffic was allowed from Shopian to Poonch around 2.30 pm on Monday, but fresh snowfall forced closure of the road again," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Sheikh Mohammad Aslam said. He said all the 70 vehicles which left Shopian, were asked to return and there was no vehicle stranded on the road.

"The snowfall was not the problem but the slippery conditions prevailing around high altitude Peer Ki Gali forced closure of the road for the third day," the official said.

The authorities are monitoring the weather and a decision to reopen the road would be taken on Monay, he said.

A spokesperson of the MeT department said the minimum temperature in Jammu city was 8.7 degrees Celsius as against 9.5 degrees Celsius the previous night.