Fresh snowfall brings Kashmir valley to a standstill

Fresh snowfall disrupted life in the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar city, on Tuesday with all flights cancelled at Srinagar airport and many major roads, including the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, closed.

Fresh snowfall disrupted life in the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar city, on Tuesday with all flights cancelled at Srinagar airport and many major roads, including the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, closed.

A farmer clears snow from an apple tree in an orchard during snowfall in Srinagar on Tuesday. (Waseem Andrabi /HT)

Officials announced the closure of the 270-km hilly national highway connecting Srinagar to Jammu owing to slippery road conditions, and snow accumulation between Banihal and Qazigund.

They said no vehicular movement was allowed from Jammu towards Srinagar and vice versa. Furthermore, Mughal Road connecting Kashmir to the twin districts of Pir Panjal, Srinagar-Leh (SSG) highway, and Sinthan Road have already been closed since the January 22-23 snowfall.

“The snowfall and rains started from Monday evening and as a precautionary measure we have suspended traffic movement on the national highway and also issued an advisory to the commuters owing to the weather conditions,” said SSP (traffic rural) Ravinder Pal Singh.

While the weather conditions are expected to improve from Wednesday, travellers are advised to check the air and road connectivity before initiating journey.

The SSP said they had been diverting the vehicles coming from Srinagar back since Monday evening. “Some internal roads are connected but the roads in far-flung areas like Tanghdar, Sadna, Razdan pass and Gurez are still blocked owing to major snowfall,” he said.

The air traffic was also suspended at the Srinagar International Airport since early morning on Tuesday. “All flights to and from Srinagar airport have been cancelled due bad weather and continuous snowfall at Srinagar. Passengers are advised to reschedule their flights from the respective airlines,” an official of the airport said.

The snowfall also affected life in Srinagar city and adjoining towns with traffic movement remaining thin and businesses partially affected. Pedestrian movement was also minimal as people preferred to remain indoors.

Police rescue sick, stranded people

In rural towns like in Baramulla in the north and Shopian in the south, police came to the rescue of vehicles stuck on slippery snow-covered roads and also rushed people to hospitals amid snowfall.

A police team rushed to Watergam in Baramulla where a pregnant woman required immediate medical attention. “Despite adverse weather and difficult road conditions, the police team successfully evacuated her and shifted her safely to Kreeri sub-divisional hospital (SDH) for necessary treatment,” the spokesperson said.

In another incident in Wagoora jurisdiction, one Abdul Rehman Shah sustained serious injuries after a snow-laden shed collapsed.

“Police personnel promptly reached the spot, rescued the injured person, and shifted him to Kreeri SDH for medical care. Similarly, a two-year-old baby girl had fallen unconscious at her residence at Khan Mohalla, Thindma, Kreeri, and due to heavy snowfall and extremely slushy road conditions on a steep slope, neither the family nor an ambulance could access the location. Police personnel immediately rushed to the spot and evacuated the child to SDH Kreeri, where she is presently reported to be stable,” the spokesperson said.

The snowfall initially affected power supply in some parts of the valley, but was restored promptly.

“Due to heavy snowfall across several parts of Kashmir, system load remained subdued during the initial hours. With weather conditions easing and restoration measures taking effect, the load has gradually picked up and the grid is now operating in a steady and stable state,” said Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation in a statement.

This is the second major snow spell in Kashmir since January 22 after a prolonged dry spell since November. The snowfall has rejuvenated the water bodies and also mitigated the further danger of any forest fires.

IMD cautions of avalanches

The meteorological centre in Srinagar has predicted improvement in weather from Wednesday for the coming three days, but has cautioned of snow avalanches in the next 48 hours. “The people, particularly in hilly areas, should be cautious and not venture into avalanche-prone higher reaches,” said meteorologist Mohammad Hussain Mur from IMD in Srinagar.

“The current western disturbance will leave the valley by Wednesday morning and the weather will be fine for the next three days,” he said.

BRO conducts high-altitude rescue, road restoration operation

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) successfully carried out a high-altitude rescue and road restoration operation under Project Sampark at Chattergala Pass situated at an altitude of 10,500 feet on the Bhaderwah-Chattergala axis, said officials.

“The 118 Road Construction Company (RCC) of 35 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) commenced snow-clearance operation in the morning on January 24 and continued for nearly 40 hours, clearing approximately 38 km of road covered under five to six feet of snow,” said a defence spokesperson.

The route was opened by evening January 25, enabling safe evacuation of 20 stranded civilians and 40 troops of 4 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), he added.

The operation was executed in close coordination with the Indian Army, ensuring swift relief and the restoration of critical communication links in the region.

Dy CM seeks suspension of 5 engineers over delay in snow clearance

Deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary has sought suspension of five officials, including assistant executive engineers (AEE), of the public works department (PWD) and mechanical & hospital division (MHD) in Kashmir owing to delay in snow clearance in various areas.

A communication from the civil secretariat to the chief engineers of PWD and MHD stated that during Choudhary’s visit on January 25 at the Integrated Command & Control Centre (ICCC), Srinagar, Sandeep Vaishnavi, assistant engineer (AE), machinery division, Srinagar, was found absent from duty and certain PWD officers/officials also failed to perform their duties efficiently, resulting in delay in snow clearance and disruption of road connectivity and essential services.

These officials include Noor Din, AEE PWD Imamsahib; Shabir Ahmad Ganie, AEE MHD Tangmarg; Nasir, AE MHD Anantnag; Sandeep Vaishnavi, AE Machinery Division, Srinagar; and Ramiz JE MHD, Zainapora.

Taking serious note of the matter, the deputy CM has directed that these officials be placed under suspension.

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