Srinagar, Sept. 17 -- Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that over a dozen excavators and 50 earthmovers are deployed round the clock for clearing and repairs of Jammu Srinagar national highway which has seen frequent disruption leading to heavy loss to fruit growers and shortage of essentials.

The 250 to 300 metre stretch on the national highway at Udhampur has become a major headache and reason for slow movement of vehicles and traffic jams. For the past two days fruit growers and political leaders have been holding protests, some even saying that this was a "deliberate ploy" to cause losses to one of Kashmir's biggest trade. On Monday, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had already had a detailed phone conversation wi...