Snowfall in Kashmir, highways shut

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 10

All highways and roads leading in and out of the Kashmir valley were shut on Monday following fresh snowfall over mountainous stretches of the region while the weather department said more precipitation was expected over the next 24 hours.

An official of the traffic department said the Srinagar-Jammu highway, Srinagar-Ladakh highway and the Mughal Road were shut after snowfall in the northern, central and southern areas of the Valley.

The official said the traffic along the Srinagar-Jammu highway was stopped around noon as snowfall around Jawahar Tunnel made the mountainous stretches of the highway slippery and dangerous for vehicular traffic.

Apart from the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the Srinagar-Ladakh highway which connects the Valley with the Ladakh region and the Mughal Road which connects Kashmir with the Jammu region via the Shopian-Poonch corridor are the only roads leading in and out of the Kashmir valley.

The fresh snowfall in remote and mountainous areas of the Valley is the beginning of the third snow spell in the region, which is grappling with an early winter this year. 

More precipitation expected

An official of the Srinagar Meteorological Centre on Monday said that “fairly widespread” rain and snowfall was expected across the Valley during the next 24 hours. The official said the intensity of precipitation was expected to be “light to moderate”.