Srinagar-Leh highway likely to open by month end

The strategic 434km Srinagar-Leh national highway is expected to be thrown open for vehicular traffic later this month after five months of closure owing to heavy snowfall, Border Road Organisation (BRO) officials said."The snow clearance operation on the highway is in full swing and it is expected to be thrown open for vehicular traffic on April 27," a senior officer of the BRO told PTI.The Srinagar-Leh highway, the only road linking the frontier region of Ladakh with rest of Jammu and Kashmir, was closed for vehicular traffic on November 26 last year for winters after the high altitude areas of the valley including the 11,578 foot high Zojila pass experienced heavy snowfall.The heavy snowfall at the Zojila Pass closes the arterial road for six to seven months annually.The snow clearance operation started in the beginning of March, officials said.