Baramulla, Jan 02 (KNO): Vehicular traffic on the BaramullaâUri road remained suspended for several hours on Friday after landslides struck the highway amid ongoing road-widening works, triggering panic among commuters and bringing movement on both sides to a halt.
Officials confirmed that no injuries or vehicle damage occurred, but recurrent incidents during earth-cutting have heightened fears of worse incidents in winter.
"Clearance operations were taken up immediately after the landslide occurred," an official told the news agencyâKashmir News Observer (KNO).
âFortunately, no one was hurt, and efforts were made on priority to remove debris and restore the road,â said an on-duty police official, adding that traffic was gradually allowed from both sides after clearance.
The project site in-charge said the slide occurred during ongoing excavation work. âSuch incidents sometimes happen during construction, but our teams acted swiftly to clear the road and ensure the safety of commuters. We diverted Uri-bound traffic via Khadniyar while allowing Baramulla-bound vehicles after one-way clearance,â he said.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Baramulla, Minga Sherpa, said the landslide was a result of ongoing construction activities and that mitigation measures are being taken to prevent future occurrences.
âWe are adopting scientific methods of earth-cutting to avert such incidents. Any illegal activities contributing to instability will be dealt with strictly. Earlier, a mining work near Drangbal was stopped after it triggered a major slide and posed a risk to lives,â the DC said.
Similarly, District Mineral Officer (DMO) Baramulla, Zulfikar Ahmed Bhat, clarified that Fridayâs landslide was not linked to illegal mining activities. âThe incident occurred due to construction-related excavation, not due to any unauthorised extraction work,â he said.
Locals, however, expressed concern over recurrent landslides along the stretch, urging authorities to expedite safe and sustainable construction practices to avoid further disruptions.
They report long traffic jams, hoursâlong halts and repeated diversions as earthâcutting, excavation and muckâdumping narrow the existing carriageway at multiple spots.
It is noteworthy that the BaramullaâUri stretch of the SrinagarâBaramullaâUri highway is being widened to improve traffic flow, support tourism and border trade and ease movement towards Uri and frontier areasâ(KNO)