Ehsan Fazili/ Srinagar

Have you heard of Shaitani Nallah, Khooni Nullah and Nashri? Chances are that unless you are a resident of J&K, these may be innocuous names for you.

Especially for Kashmiris, these spots on the National Highway 44 (Formely known as NH-1A) that link Kashmir with the rest of India are notorious places especially in winter or even at the slightest drizzle.

Prone to sudden and frequent mudslides, landslides, and blizzards, the mood of these spots can make a difference between your journey being a pleasant experience and a horrifying one.

A Panaromic view of the traffic plying on the improved and widened National Highway-44

Finally, all this is likely to come to an end with the announcement by the Northern Railway that the first train from Delhi to Kashmir will start on January 26. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the railway line on January 6, 2025, marking a historic change in the J&K’s relationship with the rest of India.

The train to Kashmir makes many Kashmir reflect on their travails because of the fragile and unreliable highway connectivity for seven decades. They also speak of their experience of facing a hostile situation while traveling on National Highway.

There is hardly any traveller who was not faced a blockade of the highway amid adverse weather and survived with difficulty. Many remember having spent days and nights in bone-piercing cold without food and shelter, trapped in vehicles in the grip of snow and rain, and worrying that their meager cash amounts would not last them due to the hike in food prices and shelter. 

A row of stranded trucks waiting to leave the Valley in Winter

As luck would have it, Kashmiris are in for a double gift from the government. They are also likely to see an upgraded four-lane national highway rechristened as NH 44, turn into an all-weather road with the final patches nearing completion this year.

Traveling on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway has mostly been pleasant during the summer months, but not so much in winter especially during rain or snowfall. The vehicular traffic would get disrupted for hours, days, or weeks.

I had my first such experience on the last day of December 1984, while proceeding from Bandipore, a town in north Kashmir to, Aligarh for my professional studies at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Amid an overcast sky in the cold December morning, I boarded the only J&K SRTC bus from Bandipore to Jammu that had just been commissioned and was seen as a step towards increased connectivity between small towns in the valley with the winter capital, Jammu.

The bus reached Srinagar at 10 am and halted for refuelling and paperwork. It was raining. The driver continued the journey as the bus reached Qazigund, the last town before a long tunnel in Peer Panchal (sub-Himalayan range) would take us out of Kashmir Valley’s jurisdiction. The highway was covered with over three inches of snow. The passengers included a couple of families with little children, workers, and two students – including myself inside the bus were a worried lot. It was 2 pm and we broke the journey for lunch.

Travelers stranded inside their vehicles in Nayvug Tunnel on the NH-44 due to snowfall

As the bus moved on in its course, many of us were worried about the impending dangers of our journey. What if the road is blocked?

The seasoned driver and bus conductor reassured us that nothing of this sort would happen. I guess everyone had prayers on their lips as the bus moved slowly on the slippery highway and reached the Jawahar tunnel.

After crossing the tunnel, we thought the journey would be smoother. But the road was slushy and more slippery as the bus began a descent. The driver, a tall, hefty man with thick black hair and a long-thick Mustache, wearing a Ladakhi woollen coat was an inspiring figure. He was the epitome of confidence and grace.

The Chenab Bridge in Reasi on the Katra-Baramulla railway line

We crossed the Shaitani Nallah safely and the silence in the bus was slightly broken. It took the bus two hours to reach the Banihal town while it continued to pour.

The driver suggested we don’t take an otherwise mandatory halt as it was important to cover the vulnerable stretches as soon as possible.

Amid a heavy downpour, the thin vehicular movement continued through Ramban-Nashri-Chanderkot till we reached Batote town by evening.

Batote, a highway town midway between Srinagar and Jammu, was alive with lights and people moving around. The roadside shops, hotels, and dhabas were open as several trucks and other vehicles were already lined up on one way of the highway.

With the road appearing to be fine, our driver played smart and overtook other vehicles to take the lead. However, close to the pine tree line on the horizon, the bus stopped. A long row of vehicles stuck in knee-deep snow was there.

Travelers stuck on the NH-44 in heavy snowfall

All our hopes of moving ahead were diminishing as I saw drivers switching off their vehicle engines and headlights in anticipation of a long halt.

At about 10 pm, we accepted the reality that we were stranded on the highway and there was no other option but to remain seated on the bus. There was no chance of getting out of the bus as the doors were blocked by the snow along the sides. I spent the night on the bus. The silence in the dark was intermittently broken by the cries of little children.

In the morning many male folk pushed the wall of the freshly fallen snow to move out in search of water, food, or tea. Our bodies were cold and weak, It meant we had to wade through the knee-deep snow for over one km. Someone announced authoritatively: ‘The highway is blocked at Patni Top”.

Many of us decided to walk on foot up to Patnitop and descend to Kud, a distance of 35 km. It took us five hours to reach Kud, another highway town.

Narrow escape. Srinagar - Jammu National Highway Today.

This route is not at all safe even with tunnels. We need to find an alternative route or a solution. pic.twitter.com/mRabvwQcjJ

— Dr Tariq Tramboo (@tariqtramboo) April 2, 2023

The road from Patnitop to Kud was clear and we reached there in the afternoon.

Bus services were scanty and there were no private vehicles available those days. So we decided to walk on the slopy serpentine road for another hour to reach a small and warmed hamlet of Chennani.

In the small market of a few shops, a chaiwala offered us piping hot Nun Chai (Salt tea) and Makki ki roti and allowed us to sit close to his chullha to warm our frigid bodies and souls. He came as a saviour as he allowed us to dry our wet clothes, trousers, and socks in the heat of his chullah.

Srinagar: Snowfall has disrupted traffic along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, leaving at least 350 vehicles stranded. The highway, which serves as the sole road link between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country, was closed due to adverse weather conditions pic.twitter.com/B7K0yNQkVH

— IANS (@ians_india) December 27, 2024

We were told that the last and only bus from Chennai up to Udhampur was about to leave in two hours. We boarded the crowded bus and found no seats.

I was finally hopeful that my troubles were over. The bus driver drove us directly to Jammu, another two-hour journey. It was late at around 10 pm when we reached Jammu and checked into a local hotel.

It took us another two days to book our train tickets to Delhi and to rest and recover from the painful journey. From Delhi, it would be a bus journey to Aligarh.

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Now with the train services, it would take a maximum of 15 hours to reach Aligarh from Bandipore, one of the northernmost towns of Kashmir, to Delhi.