A portion of the Nachlana-Khari Link Road, spanning about 20 metres, caved in at Jammu & Kashmir's Ramban district, following an incessant downpour last week, officials said on Sunday.
The rains cut off the entire Khari Tehsil from National Highway 44 and the Ramban district, officials informed further. The road sank as the surface underneath the concrete caved in on account of heavy rainfall last week, officials said.
Khari tehsildar Amit Upadhyaya said the cave-in has effectively cut off more than 32,000 villagers with NH-44, adding that the collapsed portion of the stretch is barely 200 metres away from the Ramban district headquarters.
"Even a light motor vehicle can't pass through the caved-in portion of the road presently," the Khari tehsildar said.
This sunken road portion is also just 100 metres from the nearest Army camp, he added.
The famous Mohu and Mangit valleys are also part of Khari tehsil, in the Banihal sub-division of Ramban district.
Shahrukh Mushtaq, a local cab driver, said he had to park his vehicle on the other side of the road for the last five days since the incident.
"Everyone is facing problems. I had to park my vehicle on the other side of the road. There is a gnawing fear of the vehicle being stolen," Mushtaq added.
An under-construction 8.5Km railway tunnel, part of the Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Line (USBRL) project, also lies in this area and the ongoing work on this line has been hampered following the snapping of the road connecting NH-44, officials said.
The Bisleri nullah flows below this road, from Banihal to Ramsu, is the weak point as it makes the link road vulnerable to such incidents, officials said.
Mubarak Ahmed Naik, a local, said the road has been damaged over the last 4 days.
"We are facing a lot of problems. We are having trouble visiting the local market to fetch groceries and other essential items. Be it teachers, doctors or other professionals and patients, everyone is facing a hardship," Naik said.
The IRCON International, a central government undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, and PWD engineers have assessed the damage and have started repairing the stretch, officials added.
