Heavy to moderate snowfall in Kashmir throws life out of gear as the higher reaches of Kashmir recorded two to three feet of snow. The MeT office in Srinagar predicted more snow tonight but has predicted improvement from Wednesday. After the fresh snowfall many areas remained cut off with the rest of the Valley. The fresh snowfall disrupted both air and railway services. The Srinagar-Jammu national highway got closed after fresh landslides at many places.
“The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is still closed due to continuous snowfall in the Banihal sector, while it’s raining in Ramban and Udhampur sector. People are advised not to travel on the NH-44 without confirmation from TCUs,” said traffic department in a tweet.
Officials said all flights from Srinagar airport were cancelled today due to continuous snow.
Srinagar city also witnessed season’s first major snowfall. “Snow clearance in lanes/bylanes started early morning and is ongoing. As many as 40 snow ploughs have been pressed in. Manual snow clearance is also ongoing in non-motorable inner pedestrian lanes. Most lanes and bylanes will be cleared by the end of the day,” tweeted city mayor Junaid Azeem Mattu.
Officials said that more than two feet of snow was recorded at Gurez, Machil, Sadna and upper reaches of Kashmir. This was the fifth spell of snow in January in Kashmir. Today the harshest part of 40-day-long winter (chillai kalan) also ended.
The deputy commissioner, Kupwara, said all roads are open. Despite heavy snowfall, all major roads are open in Kupwara district. The DC monitored the snow-clearance operation, interacted with public, inspected government offices and health institutions.
Examinations pertaining to the cluster university have been cancelled due to the snowfall.
The MeT office said widespread moderate to heavy snowfall in Kashmir was reported, while moderate rain with thunderstorm was recorded at many places of Jammu. “The current weather condition is likely to continue for the next five to six hours. Gradual decrease in precipitation is likely from tonight. Cloudy with light snow/rain is expected at isolated to scattered places,” the MeT office said, adding that heavy snowfall may cause snow avalanche in avalanche-prone areas during the above period.
