In what could have been termed as a good news for travelers and locals alike, BRO officials today said, Srinagar – Leh Highway is likely to remain open until 20th of December 2016, thanks to favorable weather conditions.
“In view of the good weather conditions we have decided and will try to keep the highway open till December 20, so that the road that remains closed during winters is kept open for a longer time,” Commander 32 BRTF, Col Miloy told Greater Kashmir.
He said if there was moderate snowfall during this period, sophisticated machines would be pressed into service to make the road fit for traffic. “In case of heavy snowfall however, we will have to reconsider the decision of keeping the highway open,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources said the civil administration and the army have requested the BRO, which maintains the highway, to keep the road open for longer period “as much as possible so that the winter stocking of essential commodities is done before the road closure.”
Source: Greater Kashmir
The sad reality is, in view of the current situation prevailing in Kashmir, it makes absolutely zero sense to take that route to Ladakh. In fact, I seriously doubt if a lot of supplies will manage to reach Leh via Srinagar, if these protests continue any longer and target trucks (which will likely happen).
While Srinagar – Leh Highway is a fabulous and scenic route every traveler must take at least once in his/her life (even more so than Manali – Leh Highway these days), now is not the time to go there. In fact, I am not even sure if next year is going to be a good year to take that route either.
For now, if you must visit Ladakh, take a flight or wait until June next year for the Manali route to officially reopen once again.
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