Srinagar update , July 3rd

Poster davyd on IndiaMike brought the word from people just returned from Srinagar :

“..britons were more adventerous, visited jama masjid, and a little bit of the city but nothing was working, all shops were closed, rioting mobs were clashing with police. it left them with impression not unlike northern ireland. jeeps and buses with many difficulties sneak their way out to Jammu, but many got stoned.”

After more than a week of violent protests , hundreds wounded, and a small number of deaths a measure of calm has arrived in Srinagar after the decision to revoke the land grant to the Amarnath shrine organisation . According to the news schools , markets and transport are now running in the Vale.

Meanwhile conditions are unstable in Jammu for the very same reason. Curfew is still in place , and todays Tribune leads with the story “Jammu continues to burn” .

Update , July 5th: renewed clashes with police , 30 000 protesters on the streets of Srinagar… Tribune story

Update , July 8th : partial lift of curfew in Jammu , ATM´s and petrol pumps now running after a weeks hiatus.

Chilling in Kargil : Tweaking the Srinagar-Leh road

The Srinagar-Leh road is the softest run to Leh , and probably the main source of the myth that going by land always is to be preferred. There are only a few factors to keep in mind .

Acclimatizing in Srinagar

… doesn´t work , period. Srinagar is just over 1500 meters , which means actually living there may give you a marginal advantage , for every one else nothing will happen. If you are setting off days for acclimatization , do it later/higher on the road. (Srinagar´s altitude is often said to be 1730 meters , one of many altitude related myths worthy of a separate post. Google Earth and Falling Rain

both place Srinagar around 1500. )

Acclimatizing in Kargil  (alt. 2700 )

is the main advantage of the Srinagar-Leh road. Acclimatization response is about nights spent : if you choose to do   a allnighter  taxi run Srinagar-Leh this is about the same as flying in.

Acclimatization before Leh

After Kargil this boils down to one option : Saspol , some four hundred meter lower than Leh. Very nice location , a meditation cave complex above the village  that has been exposed after the collapse of a cliff side, two guest houses from what I hear now - it´s been a while since I was there.

Srinagar safety situation

Regardless of the actual situation , you will hear from a large number of people trying to sell or just being clueless that the situation is pinky peach in Kashmir just now. Situation is a lot better at the moment , but be very careful who you listen to in this : they were saying exactly the same in  July 2006

, for example ( yes , after the 11th ) . Better in this context is a highly relative term , you will still find Kashmir  taking the lead in the warnings section of  any and all official Indian travel advice for some time to com.  You´ll find current  news updates from Srinagar here

Open , again

leh.nic.in has changed status to green , open , within the last hours. Let´s see  how long it lasts..

Zoji La closes , engineers voices concerns

The Srinagar-Leh  closed  after a  single day of operation  , and  anonymous engineers were clearly unhappy with the decision to throw it open at this early point :

“The Army and the government wanted to open the highway earlier so we did as asked. But it’s a premature decision,” an engineer said. The same sources went on to say that avalanches may still be triggered in the coming weeks , and advised travellers to rethink early ventures over the pass.

Hundreds of passengers on the first run spent hours in high cold conditions  waiting for the road to be cleared once more , and were less than enthusiastic.  Weather reports talks about intermittent rain and snow , creating ideal circumstances for slush avalanches.

Areas around Zoji La have received a half meter of snow , with some  avalanches as a result.  The official word now is that re-clearing the road will require up two more days , and it will open only after BEACON engineers can vouchsafe a low avalanche risk :

“We cannot compromise with the lives of passengers,” in the words of  project engineer A.K. Bhotany.

Sources : Tribune and Daily Excelsior , April 16th

:

Across the Zoji La, April 15th

Meanwhile the the official web road marker still flags status : closed .

BRO : Srinagar-Leh opens tomorrow/day after tomorrow

434-km long Srinagar-Leh highway to reopen tomorrow after winter

SRINAGAR, Apr The 434-km long Srinagar-Leh National Highway will be put through tomorrow after remaining closed for the winter months due to five feet to 40 feet of snowfall , a senior BEACON official said.

However, the normal vehicular traffic would be allowed only from April 16, BEACON Chief Engineer A K Botaney told UNI this afternoon.

There was fresh one feet to two feet of snowfall on the Highway last week, Mr Botaney said.

However, he said, the snow was immediately cleared and repair work was undertaken on the Highway, linking Drass, the second coldest place in the world, Kargil and Leh with the rest of the country.

He said the road would be declared open tomorrow and the traffic would be allowed .

About the threat of shooting of stones and snow avalanches on the Highway, he said some of the areas were being properly maintained.

Mr Botaney said project BEACON had undertaken repair work of the road.

He added about 250 workers of BEACON were working round the clock to reopen the Highway, more than a month before schedules this time.

Full story on Daily Excelsior

Official road status , on leh.nic.in , still red/closed at this moment .

Zoji La cleared, Srinagar-Leh opens April 15th?

The 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh National Highway will be put through on April 15, as five feet to 40 feet accumulated snow has been cleared, a senior BEACON official said.

We have removed all the snow from the highway, BEACON Chief Engineer A K Botaney told UNI this afternoon.

However, he said it will take about two weeks more to make the highway, linking Drass, second coldest place in the world, Kargil and Leh with the rest of the country, safe for traffic.

He said there are reports of shooting of stones and threat of snow avalanches in some identified areas. We are taking care of the threat, he said adding the traffic will be allowed only once there is zero per cent danger.

–

We have to remove six feet to 40 feet of snow which had accumulated on the road by pressing into service more than 20 snow cutters and other sophsticated machine from both sides of the Zojila, the Chief Engineer said giving to his men for early reopening of the highway.

He said, at captain morh and adjacent areas there was more than 40 feet of snow on the road.

–

The 80-km-long Srinagar-Sonmarg stretch was declared open last week after the BEACON and civil authorities put a joint effort.

Full story , webindia/UNI

Srinagar-Leh : Zoji La opened

Zoji La opened.

Source : rediff.com

Missing teacher’s body found from Zojila

 
Srinagar, November 27
The police has recovered the body of a teacher who had gone missing in the snow-bound Zojila Pass, about 100 km from here, on the Srinagar-Leh national highway.

Search is on for the other teacher who had also gone missing during the heavy snowfall in the area on Sunday while they were on way to their home in Kashmir.

 They had gone missing when they were caught in a snow storm while trying to cross Zojila Pass on foot.

In order to take stock of problems and ensure safe passage of stranded vehicles and passengers on the Srinagar-Sonmarg-Kargil road, Minister for Social Welfare Haji Nisar Ali conducted an extensive inspection of the road yesterday.

Nearly 400 passengers and 50 heavy vehicles of the Army, police, Beacon and HCC carrying essentials were stranded at various stations over the way due to blockade, an official spokesman said here yesterday.

full story

50 vehicles stranded on Srinagar-Leh highway

50 vehicles stranded on Leh highway

Srinagar, November 13
The entire Ladakh region remained cut off from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir via land route for the second consecutive day today due to a heavy snowfall at various places along the 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh National Highway since last evening.

The road would be officially closed for vehicular traffic for six winter months from November 15.

About 8 to 10 inches of snowfall has been recorded at Zojilla and other places along the highway. Heavy snow triggered landslides at many places along the highway forcing its closure at India Gate, near Zojilla. About 50 vehicles were stranded between India Gate and Baltal along the highway.