North India shivers as heavy snowfall disrupts normal life

Intense cold wave continued to grip north India as temperatures plummeted at several places in the region.

Intense cold wave continued to grip north India as temperatures plummeted at several places in the region. The higher reaches of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh received heavy snowfall as the mercury in Srinagar settled at a low of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius and Keylong recorded minus 7 degrees Celsius on Friday night, meteorological department said Saturday. The on-going cold conditions in Punjab and Haryana Saturday aggravated with minimum temperature hovering at 3.5 degrees Celsius at Narnaul, which was one notch below normal, the MeT office said here.

Srinagar: A snow clearance vehicle removes snow off the road making way for the vehicles to ply after a snowfall, in Srinagar, Saturday, Jan. 05, 2019. According to the MeT department officials, most places in Kashmir, including plains of the valley, received moderate to heavy snowfall overnight. (PTI)

Leh recorded minus 8 degree celsius and Kargil minus 15.6 while Jammu had 8.6 and Katra 6.4 as the night’s lowest temperatures. The minimum temperature in Himachal ‘s Kalpa was minus 2 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 1.1 degrees in Dalhousie and minus 0.8 degrees Celsius in Kufri till 8.30 am Saturday, the Shimla MeT Centre Director Manmohan Singh said.

In Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir was cut off from the rest of the country on Saturday with the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remaining closed and flight operations suspended due to heavy snowfall. “So far, no air traffic has been possible at the Srinagar airport,” an official of the Srinagar International airport said. Most places in Kashmir, including plains of the valley, received moderate to heavy snowfall overnight, officials of the MeT Department said. A spokesman of the Traffic Control Room here said Mughal Road, Srinagar-Leh National Highway and Bandipora-Gurez road were also closed for traffic. The snowfall has also disrupted normal life and affected the movement of people and transport in Srinagar city and other districts of the valley. However, road clearance operations have been undertaken by the respective district administrations across the valley since the morning. Most areas of valley have been without electricity since last night, the officials said.

Srinagar: A shopkeeper clears snow in front of his shop as women walk past at Lal Chowk, in Srinagar, Saturday, Jan. 05, 2019. According to the MeT department officials, most places in Kashmir, including plains of the valley, received moderate to heavy snowfall overnight.

A Kashmiri boatman rows his Shikara, a traditional wooden boat, as others are seen parked after a spell of fresh snowfall in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019. The Kashmir region has been experiencing snow for few days resulting in disruption of air traffic and road traffic between Srinagar and Jammu, the summer and winter capitals of India's troubled state.

Five members of a family allegedly died of suffocation in Srinagar after using a heater in their closed room. Two women, one man and two children were found dead in their rented accommodation in Bemina area, police said. “The apparent cause of death appears to be asphyxiation but this will only be ascertained after medical examination,” a police officer said, adding that the family was from Kupwara, as per IANS.

Another man slipped and died while clearing snow from the roof of his house in Bandipora district Saturday, an official said. Mumtaz Ahmad, a resident of Bandipora , was injured after he slipped from the roof, deputy commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said. He said Ahmad was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to the injuries. The district administration has extended an assistance of ?4 lakh to the bereaved family, Choudhary said.

In Himchal Pradesh

No fresh snowfall occurred in Shimla on Saturday, the Shimla MeT Centre Director Manmohan Singh said. However, Keylong continued to be the coldest place in the state at minus 7 degrees Celsius, he said.

Fresh snowfall at Manali on Saturday, January 05 2019.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier sounded an ‘orange warning’ of heavy snowfall, rain and hailstorm in most parts of the state from January 4 to 6. Acting on the weather advisory, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) had already made preparations to deal with any eventuality. The state and district control rooms are in a state of readiness to deal with any eventuality, a state official had said, adding that tourists and the general public have been advised to avoid the higher reaches.

In Punjab and Haryana

Several parts of the two states remained engulfed under a thick blanket of fog which adversely affected the air, rail and road traffic in the region, the MeT said. While Amritsar braved a low of four degrees Celsius, one notch above normal, the minimum at Karnal was 5.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. Among other places, Chandigarh settled at a low of 5.5 degrees and 7.4 degrees at Patiala and 7.7 degrees Celsius at Ludhiana. The MeT forecast cloudy sky with likely rain or hailstorm at isolated laces till Sunday. Besides, the region is likely to face dense to very dense fog till Sunday.