Jammu, Sep 7 (IANS) ‘Project Sampark’ of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has restored the broken portion of the mountainous road in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, the defence PRO said here on Sunday.

Defence PRO Jammu said on X, “A portion of the road from #Basohli to Bani had been washed out due to incessant rains leaving a yawning gap in the road at Tikri Morh 47 km from Basohli.”

The BRO constructed an entirely new formation that had to be cut to bypass the damaged stretch of the road. This was undertaken in treacherous weather and difficult terrain, with men and machines taking calculated risks.

“The link was restored establishing connectivity to Bhaderwah from Basohli. Kudos to Mr Sankar Tayal, OC 69 RCC of BRO and his team for accomplishing this difficult mission,” the X post added..

Roads and highways in the union territory suffered massive damage due to incessant rainfall and subsequent flooding.

At places, the road was washed away by landslides and mudslides, while at other places, cloudbursts destroyed surface connectivity during the last fortnight.

Not only the road transport, but the rail traffic was also thrown out of gear during this period.

Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed for many days as portions of this strategic highway were washed away. The stretch of the road from Udhampur to Banihal town was damaged at many places.

BRO has been deploying men and machinery to completely restore this highway that forms the supply lifeline for the landlocked Valley.

All essentials of life, including food grains, LPG, other petroleum products, vegetables, poultry and mutton are brought into the Valley through this highway.

Short or long closures of the Jammu-Srinagar highway trigger panic buying in the Valley, and this is used by profiteers and black marketeers to hike the prices.

In addition to the Jammu-Srinagar highway, the Mughal Road also remained closed for two days during the recent rainfall. The Mughal Road connects the Poonch district of the Jammu division with the Shopian district of the Valley.

–IANS

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