Heavy snowfall, Mughal Road, Leh highway shut

Jammu/Srinagar, November 18

High-altitude areas in the Jammu and Kashmir regions witnessed heavy snowfall which led to closure of the Mughal Road and the Srinagar-Leh highway for vehicular traffic.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir received fresh snowfall of 2 inches last night while the day temperature in Jammu yesterday dipped by 6 degrees below normal.

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Many areas in the high-altitude areas of Kashmir witnessed fresh snowfall and the region’s plains were lashed by rains.

Officials in Jammu said around 2 feet of snow had accumulated on the ground between Peer Ki Gali and Pushana, a 20-km stretch along the Mughal Road connecting Poonch district with south Kashmir’s Shopian district.

The road, the alternative link between Kashmir and the rest of the country, was closed after the season’s first heavy snowfall in the Jammu region.

“No vehicle was allowed either from Poonch or Shopian this morning,” DSP, Traffic, Mohammad Aslam said, adding that if the weather permits, the operation to clear the road would be carried out later today.

According to officials, the 300-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the all-weather road between Kashmir and the rest of the country, is open, but commuters have been asked to avoid night travel due to threat of landslides and shooting of stones.

Sinthan Top, along the Kishtwar-Anantnag road recorded over 3 feet of snow since November 15, the day when the over two-month-long dry spell ended in Jammu and Kashmir.

The areas in Kashmir region which received snowfall include Sonamarg, Zojila and Razdan Pass. The highest rainfall (8.9 mm) was recorded in north Kashmir’s Kupwara.

Owing to the fresh snowfall and rains, the Srinagar-Leh highway was also closed for traffic. Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.9 degrees Celsius, and Leh, in Ladakh region, minus 6.4. Kargil town recorded a low of minus 6 degrees Celsius.

Gulmarg, which recorded the season’s lowest of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius last night, saw temperatures drop to minus 3.8 degrees today, the official said.

Temperature at the resort town of Pahalgam, a base camp for the Amarnath pilgrims, settled at a low of minus 0.6 degree Celsius. PTI