MUZAFFARABAD: The main Neelum Valley Road got blocked for all kinds of traffic near the town of Kel on Sunday due to a huge landslide.

“The landslide has brought huge boulders apart from mounds of earth at Sheikh Bela village due to which for the time being even a motorcycle cannot pass through it,” said Akhtar Ayoub, the district disaster management officer in Neelum valley.

The landslide-hit arealies some 5km before Kel, which is situated at a distance of around 156km northeast of Muzaffarabad in the upper belt of the picturesque valley.

Mr Ayoub said apart from being hit by the landslide, the affected portion of road was also experiencing subsidence.

“The highways department staff are present on the site and are struggling to clear the road of earth and boulders. They are hopeful of restoring traffic movement by Monday noon,” he said.

He said some link roads in the valley had also been blocked due to recent snowfall and rains, and the highways department had started operations to open them for traffic.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2024