Shooting stones and massive landslides at the south portal of the newly built T5 tunnel at Panthyal near Ramban on Jammu–Srinagar highway on Sunday halted vehicular traffic on the strategic route.
The tunnel built by national highways authority of India (NHAI) was recently thrown open for traffic to bypass the landslide-prone spots that witness frequent roadblocks.
According to reports, an army vehicle carrying some officers had a narrow escape when the landslide hit suddenly. All of them are safe.
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Soon after the incident, Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mussarat Islam, sent a letter to the NHAI authorities asking them to get the vulnerable zone technically
assessed so that immediate protection measures are taken to protect the lives of passengers travelling on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway as well as Tunnel T-5, which has been constructed after overcoming so many challenges.
He wrote; “Your immediate attention is invited towards the massive shooting stone activity that occurred in forenoon today on 02.04.2023 near the mouth of South Portal of Tunnel T-5 (Tube 1), which was recently opened for vehicular traffic on 16 March 2023. This has halted traffic on both sides of the highway”.
“As can be seen from some of the videos doing rounds on social media platforms, the lives of passengers entering or exiting the tunnel will be at grave risk, if no remedial measures are immediately taken,” the DC wrote.
“You may note that Tunnel T-5 after diversion of traffic from the old treacherous Panthyal stretch has brought huge respite to the travellers and also helped in
better regulation of traffic in absence of jams,” he added.
