Traffic resumes on NH

Banihal, December 11

The traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway resumed on Tuesday after a daylong closure due to inclement weather, while the Mughal Road and Srinagar-Leh highway remained closed for the second day owing to heavy snowfall in the high altitude areas of the state, officials said.

The highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was cleared for traffic on Tuesday morning after being in precautionary suspension since Monday due to bad weather.

Minor landslides occurred at a few places, including Hingli-Ramsu and Sherbeebi along the Ramban-Banihal stretch, during the night but were cleared by the agencies concerned. The snow clearance operation was also carried out on both sides of the Jawahar Tunnel, which got over six inches of snowfall, the officials said.

Over two feet of snow had accumulated in the Peer ki Gali area along the Mughal Road, while heavy snowfall was also reported in Zojila along the Srinagar-Leh highway.

Night temperature dips

The night temperatures dropped across Kashmir but stayed above the freezing point at most places even though the Valley witnessed snow and rain on Monday, Met officials said in Srinagar. Srinagar city recorded a low of 1.6° Celsius on Monday night, dropping 0.8 degrees compared to the night before, the officials said on Tuesday.

Qazigund — the gateway town to the Valley — recorded a low of 1.6° Celsius, while nearby Kokernag town recorded a low of 0° Celsius.

Gulmarg skiing resort saw the mercury dipping due to clear skies following the snowfall on Monday and recorded a minimum of -7.6° Celsius compared to the -6° Celsius a night before. Gulmarg recorded the lowest temperature in the Valley on Monday. — PTI