Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Aug 25
Repeated cloudbursts and landslides have disrupted the Mughal Road this summer, raising questions over its reliability as an alternative route between Kashmir and Jammu, officials and residents said.
The road links Shopian in south Kashmir with Poonch in the Jammu region across the Pir Panjal range. It opened to traffic in 2009 as an alternative to the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah travelled along the road to Rajouri and Poonch on Aug. 5 and later described its condition as worse than that of the national highway, which had also been damaged by heavy rain and landslides.
Official records show cloudbursts at Sukh Sarai on June 14 and Zaznar Point on June 29. Landslides were later reported at Lal Ghulam on July 14 and Sukh Sarai on Aug. 3.
The Border Roads Organisation has been clearing the route after blockages, an official said.
“Our teams respond immediately whenever the road is blocked. The priority is to clear debris and restore traffic at the earliest,” the official said.
The road is also closed for more than four months in winter because of heavy snowfall around Peer Ki Gali, which is about 11,500 feet above sea level.
The closures limit its use as an alternative when the Jammu-Srinagar highway is disrupted.
For residents and traders in Shopian, Rajouri and Poonch, the route remains an important link and provides access for horticultural produce to markets in Jammu.
A proposed 9-km tunnel between Chatta Pani in Poonch and Zaznar in Shopian could reduce the road’s exposure to winter conditions, officials said.
The Centre approved the Pir Ki Gali tunnel project in June 2025 at an estimated cost of about Rs 3830 crore. The tunnel is intended to provide an all-weather connection between the Kashmir Valley and the Pir Panjal region.
