Security forces on Monday averted a major tragedy by detecting and defusing six hand grenades placed by militants on the busy Parimpora-Panthachowk axis in Srinagar, officials said here.

"During a routine road opening exercise along National Highway 44, alert troopers of the 73 Battalion of the CRPF recovered six Chinese grenades from a sandbag placed on a divider of the road," a spokesperson of the force said.

He said the troops averted a major incident on the busy highway.

"Since there was a lot of rush on the highway, the grenades were not demolished in situ. They were handed over to the police for disposal," the official added.

The anticipation exercise along the busy arterial road connecting south Kashmir with north led to a traffic snarl on the highway as well as in other parts of the city.

The stretch where the grenades were found is used by security forces to reach places in remote border districts, including Kupwara and Bandipora.

The same road is also used to reach Ladakh.