Photos: In the grips of ‘Chillai-Kalan’, Kashmir struggles to stay warm

Kashmir is currently experiencing extreme cold as part of 'Chillai-Kalan' – the 40-day harshest period of winter. As portions of the Dal lake freeze, along with the water pipelines that serve as the source of drinking water in residential areas, people are struggling to stay warm. As they go along their daily routine, they are holding on to all possible means to battle the intensifying cold. As cold wave conditions intensify, here’s a look at how the region is being affected.

Updated on: Dec 29, 2018 12:45 PM IST

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Published on Dec 29, 2018 12:45 PM

Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ – the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are maximum and the temperature drops to its lowest. Srinagar experienced the coldest December night in nearly three decades with a low of minus 7.2 degree Celsius early Saturday. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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A view of snow covered Mughal road after fresh snowfall, some sixty kilometres from Srinagar. The winter this season has been dry so far, although there was a spell of early snowfall in the valley during the first and second week of November. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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A man seen wearing a traditional “pheran” during heavy snowfall at Srinagar. The prolonged dry spell during this year’s winter has resulted in an increase of common ailments like cough, cold and other respiratory problems, especially among children and the elderly. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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A man uses an oar to break ice to move his boat on the partially frozen interiors of the Dal Lake. The cold wave has resulted in freezing of some water bodies, including the fringes of the famous Dal Lake and residential water supply pipes in Srinagar and other towns of the Valley. (Danish Ismail / Reuters)

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A woman carries a basket of cow-dung through a frost-covered field on a foggy morning in Srinagar. At minus 21.1 degree Celsius, Drass recorded the night’s lowest temperature, and the town was coldest in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. (Danish Ismail / Reuters)

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A man carries a load of cauliflowers while holding a kangri, or a fire-pot containing embers, on a cold Srinagar morning. Residents are using all means to protect themselves from the cold. Even the maximum temperature recorded in Drass on Friday did not rise above the freezing point as it settled at minus 5.5 degree. (Mukhtar Khan / AP Photo)

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A man carries an infant inside his warm clothes in a village of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. As per the India Meteorological Department, the temperature in the region will further plummet during the nights. Leh has already recorded minus 17.5 degree and Kargil minus 16.7 degree as the minimum temperature. (Danish Ismail / Reuters)

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Kashmiri Muslims rest and warm themselves inside the portion of a mosque locally know as Hamam on a cold evening in Srinagar. ‘Chillai-Kalan’ ends on January 31, but the cold persists even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ and a 10-day ‘Chillai-Bachha’. (Mukhtar Khan / AP Photo)