Srinagar, Jan 9: The traffic on the strategic Srinagar-Kargil highway connecting Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh will remain suspended due to icy conditions in view of inclement weather and to carry out maintenance work from January 11, officials said.

Interestingly Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the 6.4-kilometer-long Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Sonamarg highway on January 13.

The Z-Morh tunnel, along with the 13-kilometer-long under-construction Zojila tunnel, forms a crucial part of a strategic project for ensuring round-the-year connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh region which remains closed during the winters due to heavy snowfall.

Senior Superintendent of Police Traffic UT of Ladakh Altaf Ahmad Shah in a public notice has informed general public especially commuters, drivers and tourists that the traffic on the Kargil-Srinagar highway (Zojila pass) shall remain suspended due to icy road conditions and inclement road conditions.

The notification said “whereby a maintenance work on the road shall be carried out by the concerned agencies from January 11 to January 14, 2025”.

“Traffic shall resume on the highway on January 14 subject to weather conditions”, the notice reads.

“Keeping in view the clement weather condition and scheduled road maintenance, commuters/passengers are advised to restrict their journey till ‘Green’ signal from the concerned road maintenance agencies, in order to avoid inconvenience as well as any untoward incident while travelling”, the notice added.

“The commuters and passengers are advised to undertake journey on the route only after confirming the status of the road from the traffic police control room and traffic control units of Kargil and Leh”, the notice concludes.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Zojila pass on the Srinagar-Ladakh highway experienced snowfall and the minimum temperature plunged to -31.0°C on Thursday.

UNI