The national highway - between Baramulla in north Kashmir to Udhampur in Jammu region - will be banned for civilian traffic on Sundays and Wednesdays till May 31.
The bi-weekly restriction on traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway began on Sunday with the road being completely closed for civilian movement in the early morning hours.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration and Centre had earlier this week announced that the national highway - between Baramulla in north Kashmir to Udhampur in Jammu region - will be banned for civilian traffic on Sundays and Wednesdays till May 31. No civilian traffic would be allowed during the movement of the paramilitary forces, a notifiaction issued by state administration said.
The restrictions on civilian traffic on the 271-km highway will remain in force from 4 am to 5 pm, said the order issued on Wednesday by state Home Secretary Shaleen Kabra. The order which follows the suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama. The highway passes through important towns such as Anantnag, Awantipora, Pampore, Srinagar, Pattan and Baramulla.
The decision to block the highway for two days has been taken to facilitate the unhindered movement of security forces' convoys to eliminate the possibility of fidayeen terror attacks during the ongoing poll process, the notification said.
Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls in five phases from April 11 to May 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
In case of an emergency requiring the passage of a civilian vehicle, police and administrative officials will take appropriate decisions in line with the provisions for movement of civilian traffic during curfews, it added.
Opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir have opposed the decision with National Conference leader Omar Abdullah terming the order a proof of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's failure to manage the internal security of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Another 1st for the Modi government after the 1st ever delayed assembly election now this shocker - never before in 30 years has the national highway ever been closed for civilian traffic like this," the National Conference vice-president tweeted on Wednesday.
"It's a glaring admission of failure to manage the internal security of J&K," he said.
The party has also decided to defy the restriction order in protest.
"Patients will not be able to reach hospitals, students will be deprived access to schools, employees won't be able to reach work and the list goes on & on. There has to be a better, less people unfriendly way of protecting forces using the highway," Abdullah said in another tweet.
Instead, the security forces should travel in special trains, he suggested.
(With PTI inputs)
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