Heavy snowfall cuts off Kashmir : The Tribune India

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Heavy snowfall cuts off Kashmir

SRINAGAR:Air and road links were snapped on Saturday as the Valley received one of the heaviest snowfalls in recent years.

Heavy snowfall cuts off Kashmir

People walk on a road after a snowfall in Srinagar on Saturday. AFp



Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 5

Air and road links were snapped on Saturday as the Valley received one of the heaviest snowfalls in recent years.

An official of the meteorological department said moderate to heavy snowfall was received across Kashmir overnight. The overnight precipitation covered Srinagar city and other parts of the region in a thick layer of snow and left roads slippery.

The snowfall was heaviest in Pahalgam and Kupwara district. Srinagar city received moderate snowfall, the official said.

Nine Srinagar-bound flights were cancelled due to heavy snowfall and bad weather. Three flights of IndiGo, three of SpiceJet, two of GoAir and one Vistara flight did not take off for Srinagar on Saturday. However, Air India-812 operated on late Saturday afternoon.

Several major highways were also shut in view of the weather conditions.

An official of the traffic department said the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the major surface link between the Kashmir valley and rest of the country, was shut due to accumulation of snow.

The other highways and inter-region roads which remained shut due to the snowfall this week are the Srinagar-Leh highway and Mughal Road.

Roads connecting remote parts of north Kashmir, including Gurez, Tangdhar and Machil, are also shut.

The meteorological department said there was a possibility of downpour at scattered places in the region in the next 24 hour and the weather was expected to remain dry after that.

It was the fourth spell of snowfall since November.

Jammu: The traffic control room has issued an advisory in which it has informed that the one-way movement of vehicles will be allowed on Sunday from Jammu to Srinagar before 12 noon from Nagrota.

All passenger and goods vehicles were stranded at various places en route the Kashmir valley on Saturday and hundreds of passengers were stuck at Jammu Bus Stand due to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

Meanwhile, the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine witnessed the first snowfall of the year on Saturday. The helicopter service to the shrine from Katra was suspended due to the bad weather.


Man falls to death while clearing snow

Srinagar: A man fell to his death while clearing snow from the roof of his house in Bandipora district on Saturday, an official said. Mumtaz Ahmad, a resident of Ward No. 4 of Bandipora town, was injured after he fell from the roof of his house, Bandipora Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said. He said Mumtaz was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The district administration has extended Rs 4-lakh financial assistance to the bereaved family, Choudhary said. PTI

Harrowing time for commuters

Commuters travelling on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway had a harrowing time on Friday evening when heavy snowfall made the road slippery and led to a massive traffic jam. Hundreds of people remained stranded on the road till midnight. The slow traffic movement on the highway took commuters more than six hours to complete the 55-km journey. “We left the office at 5 pm and reached home at 11 pm as the traffic was moving at a snail’s pace. There was no sign of administration’s presence,” a bank employee said.

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