{"id":13120,"date":"2026-02-24T17:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=13120"},"modified":"2026-02-24T17:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:27:13","slug":"residents-urge-early-reopening-of-mughal-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/residents-urge-early-reopening-of-mughal-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents urge early reopening of Mughal Road"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Shopian, Feb 24:\u00a0<\/strong>Residents of Shopian and the Pir Panjal region have urged authorities to expedite the reopening of the historic Mughal Road, as snow clearance operations continue after heavy winter accumulation disrupted connectivity.<\/p>\n<p>The vital road link, connecting Shopian in Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu division, has remained shut due to thick layers of snow. Its closure has significantly impacted daily life, trade, and emergency movement for people residing on either side of the Pir Panjal range.<\/p>\n<p>Locals said the prolonged closure has already caused considerable hardship, although it has remained open for most of the winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis road is not just a route\u2014it is our lifeline,\u201d said Junaid Ahmad, a resident of Shopian. \u201cWith it closed, we are forced to take longer and more expensive routes, which many families simply cannot afford.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Voicing similar concerns, residents from the Pir Panjal side said the shutdown has affected access to essential services. \u201cStudents, patients, and traders are all suffering. In medical emergencies, delays can be life-threatening,\u201d said Mohammad Yousuf from Poonch.<\/p>\n<p>Locals, however, noted that this winter the road remained functional for a longer duration compared to previous years and was closed only after heavy snowfall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe delay in reopening is hurting business, especially shopkeepers and others en route to the road. We appeal to authorities to speed up the process and open the road at the earliest,\u201d said a shopkeeper.<\/p>\n<p>Residents further called for a comprehensive winter preparedness plan to avoid recurring disruptions. \u201cEvery year we face the same issue. Authorities must ensure better planning so the road either remains open or is restored quickly,\u201d another local said.<\/p>\n<p>The Mughal Road, apart from its historical and scenic importance, serves as a crucial alternate link between Kashmir and Jammu regions, significantly reducing travel distance when operational.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, officials said that snow clearance is nearing completion, marking a rare achievement as the road has almost been cleared in February for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities have reiterated that all efforts are underway to restore traffic at the earliest, offering much-needed relief to thousands dependent on this key route<strong>\u2014(KNO)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shopian, Feb 24:\u00a0Residents of Shopian and the Pir Panjal region have urged authorities to expedite the reopening of the historic Mughal Road, as snow clearance operations continue after heavy winter accumulation disrupted connectivity. The vital road link, connecting Shopian in Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu division, has remained shut due to thick [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13122,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13120\/revisions\/13122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}