Chopper service hit at Vaishnodevi shrine
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Oct 22: The higher reaches of Jammu & Kashmir received fresh snowfall today leading to closure of Mughal and Kishtwar-Anantnag roads while helicopter service at Katra Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine was affected for some time during evening hours due to bad weather.
Official sources said that Mughal Road, connecting Kashmir Valley’s Shopian district with Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region, was closed due to fresh snowfall. Several vehicles have been stranded on both sides of the Pir Ki Gali (Pass).
A senior Traffic Police official said that there was snowfall during evening hours in Pir Ki Gali area after which vehicular movement was stopped on this road. He said that the vehicular movement will be possible tomorrow only that too, subject to the fair weather condition. He said many vehicles moving towards Kashmir were stopped at Behramgala, Poshana and Bafliaz.
Reports from Kishtwar said that due to fresh snowfall at Sinthan Top, the Kishtwar-Kokernag-Anantnag road was also closed this morning. He said the snow clearance operation will be launched tomorrow. Fresh snowfall has also been reported at Chhatergalla on Bhaderwah-Bani road, resulting in the closure of this road due to slippery conditions.
Meanwhile, snowfall in the hills and cloudy weather conditions in the Kashmir valley led to drop in temperatures making people shiver with cold.
The Meteorological Department Srinagar today forecast light rain or snow at scattered places over higher reaches of Kashmir during the next 12 hours.
It said that the weather is cloudy at most places with a forecast of light rain or snow over higher reaches likely at scattered places of Kashmir today.
The MeT office said the weather will remain partly to general cloudy on Monday and fair to partly cloudy with poor visibility in morning hours from October 24-27.
“Light rain is likely at scattered places of Jammu and Kashmir from October 28-29, while there is no forecast of any major rain or snowfall till October 27 in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” it said.
The MeT office also issued a weather advisory for not conducting harvesting and other outdoor activities today.
The minimum temperature recorded at Srinagar was 6.6 degree Celsius, Qazigund 5.4 degree Celsius, Pahalgam 1.8 degree Celsius, Kokernag 6.0 degree Celsius and Gulmarg 3.2 degree Celsus.
Jammu recorded a minimum temperature of 18 degree Celsius and maximum 27.9 degree today while Leh town had minimum -2.5 degrees and maximum 11.2 degrees C today. With fresh snowfall in hilly areas and cloudy weather, the day temperature in Jammu region has further decreased. Due to bad weather, the chopper service was briefly hit at Katra Mata Vaishnodevi this evening, a Shrine Board official said.
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