10 days after being closed by authorities “till further orders” following fresh snowfall, Mughal Road, connecting Kashmir Valley’s Shopian district with twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch, has been thrown open for traffic partially, officials said on Tuesday.
They said that there the thoroughfare was opened after clearance of fresh snowfall at several places along the road including ‘Peer Ki Gali’. DTI Mughal Road Kapil Manhas told media that the road has been opened partially for “emergency purposes.”
Meanwhile, traffic on Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir Valley with the outside world, is plying from both sides, officials said. Also, one-way traffic is plying on SSG road from Srinagar towards Kargil, they said. “Commuters are advised to follow lane discipline, overtaking will lead to congestion,” they added.
Mughal Road is the road between Bufliaz, a town in the Poonch district, to the Shopian district, in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The 84-kilometre road traces a historic route used in the Mughal period over the Pir Panjal Pass, at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft), higher than the Banihal pass at 2,832 m (9,291 ft).
The road connects Poonch and Rajouri to Srinagar in the Kashmir valley, and reduces the distance between Shopian and Poonch from 588 km to 126 km. It also provides an alternative route into the Kashmir valley off the Jammu–Srinagar highway. The road passes through Buffliaz, Behramgalla, Chandimarh, Dogray (Dogran), Godawan, Poshana, Chattapani, Peer Ki Gali, Aliabad, Zaznar, Dubjian, Hirpora, and Shopian.
History
A route linking Hirapur (modern Hirpora) in the Kashmir Valley with Poonch via the Pir Panjal Pass (Peer Ki Gali) has been used from ancient times. During the period of the sultans, it was extended to Bhimber. Historian Mohibbul Hasan says it played an important role during this period.
After conquering the Kashmir Valley, the emperor Akbar strengthened the route into an ‘Imperial Road’ stretching from Lahore to Kashmir. In modern times, the route has been referred to as the ‘Mughal Road’.
The route has also been traditionally used by the nomadic pastoral communities of Gujjars and Bakerwals for their seasonal migration.
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