*About 1300 HMVs stranded on NH-44
Fayaz Bukhari / Govind Sharma
SRINAGAR/JAMMU, Dec 28: Kashmir received season’s heaviest snowfall since last night, disrupting normal life in the Valley and affecting air, rail and road traffic badly with thousands of vehicles stranded on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway while several higher reaches of Jammu region received season’s first snowfall, much to the delight of the locals, especially agriculturalists and those associated with the tourism industry.
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Defying the Meteorological Department forecast of light snowfall at isolated places in Kashmir, heavy snowfall in the South of Srinagar led to closure of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway (NH-44), cancellation of all flights from Srinagar Airport and train service.
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Normal life was thrown out of gear in the region as most areas of the Valley received snowfall. Moderate to heavy snowfall was recorded across Kashmir since last evening, including the season’s first snowfall in Srinagar city and other parts of the Valley. In South Kashmir, heavy to very heavy snowfall was recorded in the plains, while Central and North Kashmir received moderate snowfall.
Anantnag town, Bijbehara, Dialgam and Pahalgam in district Anantnag received 1 ½ feet of snowfall, Achabal in Anantnag district one feet and 8 inches, Batkoot one feet and 4 inches, Dooru 2 feet and 3 inches, Shangus 2 feet, Qazigund 2 feet and 3 inches, and Kokernag received 2 feet of snowfall.
Awantipura, Drabgam, Pulwama Town, Tral and Pampore in district Pulwama received over one feet of snowfall. Manzgam and Wanpoh – Khudwani in Kulgam district received around two feet of snowfall while Devsar, DH Pora and Aharbal in the district received over two feet of snow. Adjian, Heff, Hermain in Shopian district of South Kashmir received over 1 ½ feet of snowfall.
Srinagar received 8 inches of snowfall, Laar in Ganderbal district 6 inches, Ganderbal town 7 inches, Zojila over one feet and Sonamarg around one feet of snow. The plains of Budgam district received 7 inches of snowfall, Charar-i-Sharief 10 inches, Beerwah around 9 inches while Khag in the district received around one feet of snow.
Gurez in Bandipora district received 5 – 6 inches of snowfall, Garoora in Bandipora 10 inches and main town Bandipora 4 inches of snowfall. Baramulla town received 4 – 5 inches of snowfall, Sopore 5 – 6 inches, Rafiabad 6 inches, Pattan 5 inches, Uri 6 inches, Kunzer 9 inches and Gulmarg one and a half feet of snowfall. In Kupwara, 1- 5 inches of snowfall was recorded while Pazipora in Kupwara received 1 – 2 inches, Chowkibal 3 inches and Langate 2 – 3 inches of snowfall.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) has been closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall in the morning with thousands of vehicles stranded on the highway at several places between Udhampur and Qazigund. However, after snow clearance, several Light Motor Vehicles were allowed to move towards Jammu from Srinagar.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rural, Ravinder Paul Singh, told Excelsior that the highway was closed due to slippery road conditions between Qazigund and Navyug Tunnel. “In the afternoon, we started clearing the traffic and till 6 pm, 400 LMVs were cleared towards Jammu. However, no heavy vehicles were allowed to move as our priority is LMVs, mostly passenger vehicles. More passenger vehicles arrived in the afternoon in Qazigund and we have asked them to return to safer places as road conditions do not allow traffic to ply during frosty conditions,” he said.
However, another official said that around 100 fresh vehicles with passengers arrived in Qazigund by this evening. “Some are in the vehicles and others have taken shelter in the nearby motels,” he said, adding that around 1300 trucks and other heavy vehicles are stranded on the National Highway between Qazigund and Udhampur.
Stuck in snow, while many sulked, some chose to allay their hardships by playing cricket inside the out-of-bounds 8.5-km Navyug Tunnel in Kashmir. Many spent the night inside their vehicles in the freezing temperature and demanded a fast reopening of the arterial road. The cold, however, failed to dampen certain sturdy spirits who warmed up with a good game of cricket inside the Navyug Tunnel.
Director Srinagar International Airport, Javed Anjam, told Excelsior that all the 35 flights operating from the airport have been cancelled due to bad weather. “Passengers are requested to contact their airlines for the updates,” he said. Around 12 flights to and from Srinagar were also cancelled at Jammu Airport due to slippery conditions, following snowfall. Train services on the Banihal-Baramulla section were also suspended due to heavy snow accumulation on the track.
Anantnag Police rescued four tourists, who were stuck in heavy snow while travelling from NH to Dooru via Dalwach, and evacuated them to a safe location. In Kulgam, a medical team from DH Pora rescued an 8-month pregnant woman stranded in snow-blocked roads in Dangerpora Chimmer, Khull and safely shifted her to DH Pora.
Chinar Warrior Corps rescued 68 tourists including children from the tourist destination Gulmarg which were stranded there following heavy snowfall and subsequent closure of the Road to Tangmarg.
Snowfall was also received today in higher reaches of Doda, Poonch, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Reasi, Udhampur and Ramban areas. In Udhampur district, famous tourist spot Patnitop saw a snowfall of 6-7 inches, Nathatop 2 feet, Sanasar 2-2.5 feet, and Latti, Panchari and Basantgarh 5-7 inches. Due to overnight rains, a kuccha house partially damaged in Basantgarh area while Shivgali-Kirchi Road was closed.
Gandoh, Kahara, Thathri, Bhaderwah, Dessa, Marmar, Chilly, Jakyas, Bunjwah, Kither Patnazi and Changa areas of Doda district also witnessed significant snowfall. Several link roads in the district were blocked or closed due to slippery conditions following heavy snowfall. Sinthan Pass in Kishtwar has also been shut for vehicular traffic due to heavy snowfall.
Several higher reaches of district Reasi experienced fresh snowfall. Trikuta Hills, home to the revered Vaishno Devi shrine, received their first snowfall of the season, creating a picturesque view that captivated pilgrims and locals alike. In addition to the Trikuta Hills, higher reaches of Chassana also recorded the season’s first snowfall. Areas such as Shajru, Sildhar, and other parts of Mahore and Chassana witnessed fresh snowfall, bringing joy to the residents while signaling colder days ahead.
In the meantime, Srinagar recorded a low of minus 1 degree Celsius last night, more than six degrees up from the previous night’s low of minus 7.3 degrees Celsius. Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam registered a minimum temperature of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius. Qazigund recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, while Konibal, in Pampore area, recorded minus 1.5 degrees Celsius. Kupwara recorded a low of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag registered minus 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The day temperatures dipped several notches below normal and it was the coldest day of the season in the region. Srinagar, Qazigund, Pahalgam, Kupwara, Kokernag and Gulmarg recorded day temperatures of 2.4 degrees Celsius, 2.0 degrees Celsius, 2.2 degrees Celsius, 2.4 degrees Celsius, 4.0 degrees Celsius and 0.2 degrees Celsius respectively. It was 6.5 degrees Celsius, 6.9 degrees Celsius, 4.6 degrees Celsius, 6.8 degrees Celsius, 3.5 degrees Celsius and 3.1 degrees Celsius below normal respectively at these places for this time of the year.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the harshest 40 day period of winter – which began on December 21. During the 40 days of Chillai-Kalan, the chances of snowfall are the highest and the temperature drops considerably.
Jammu recorded a minimum of 10.3 degree Celsius, Banihal -0.3 degree Celsius, Batote -1.3 degree Celsius, Katra 7.6 degree Celsius and Bhaderwah registered a minimum of -0.6 degree celius.
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