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Weather improves in Valley, more rains, snow from Jan 26
Officials said that the highway was thrown open for traffic in the morning after closure due to the snowfall since January 23
Weather improved in Kashmir on Sunday after the overnight light snowfall in Srinagar while the Srinagar-Jammu national highway was partially restored for traffic movement.
Officials said that the highway was thrown open for traffic in the morning after closure due to the snowfall since January 23.
“Srinagar-Jammu NH is partially restored and there was clearance of stranded vehicles between Navyug Tunnel and Nashri Tunnel,” traffic police said in the morning. However, Mughal road, Sinthan road and Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri highway are still closed for traffic.
Deputy chief minister (CM) Surinder Choudhary visited the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Srinagar to take stock of ongoing snow clearance operations and emphasised the need for swift and prompt snow clearance in all affected areas.
He directed the concerned departments to ensure that all the affected main roads as well as link roads are cleared on priority to facilitate smooth and hassle-free movement of the public.
He also reviewed the status of healthcare facilities and instructed that roads leading to all major hospitals and healthcare institutions across Kashmir be cleared immediately. He stressed that uninterrupted and seamless patient care must be ensured, and instructed that all essential services, including power and water supply, be restored on war footing in all the affected areas.
The availability of essential commodities and supplies in the markets was also assessed.
The deputy CM instructed the concerned officers to keep manpower, machinery and logistics in a state of readiness to mitigate the impact of any further weather-related exigency. The meteorological centre in Srinagar has predicted more snowfall on January 26 and 27.
“Weather will be cloudy on January 26 and there is possibility of moderate to heavy rains and snowfall with gusty winds on the night of January 26 till the evening of January 27,” said MeT director Mukhtar ahmad.
