SRINAGAR – Kashmir reeled under intense cold conditions on Monday as the minimum temperature stayed several degrees below freezing point across the valley, the MET Office said on Monday.
A MET official said the freezing temperatures led to development of a layer of frost on roads which caused inconvenience to people especially to motorists but bright sunshine later in the day eased the situation.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.4 degree Celsius nearly a degree down from Sunday’s minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said the mercury in Qazigund the gateway town to the valley in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius, same as last night.
Pahalgam tourist resort in south recorded a low of minus 9 degrees Celsius up from minus 13.7 degrees Celsius yesterday, the official said, adding the resort was the coldest recorded palce in the Kashmir valley.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir registered a minimum of minus 12.8 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in Kokernag, in south, settled at a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, in north, recorded a low of minus 5.8 degrees Celsius, the official added.
The MET Office has forecast scattered to widespread light to moderate rain or snow in the valley over the next two days.
Admin Reviews Availability Of Petroleum Products
The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan on Monday chaired a meeting of officers to discuss the availability of LPG and Petroleum products in snow affected areas of Kashmir division.
During the meeting, Khan took stock of availability of the LPG and other petroleum products, bedsides discussing short term as well as long term measures to overcome the scarcity of petroleum products in the Valley.
The representatives of the oil companies informed the meeting that 70,000 LPG cylinders are available and the stock is sufficient for a week. They informed that more Petrol and Diesel tankers have arrived while many more are on way.
The Div Com asked the oil companies to push for 500 more trucks in next two days to avoid any shortage.
He also asked the oil companies to depute their representatives at Patnitop, Ramban, Banihal and Qazigundand to communicate with the Div Com office, IGP Traffic and Director FCS & CA about the arrival of petroleum tankers on the daily basis.
The Div Com asked the concerned officials to conduct extensive market checks to ensure that domestic LPG is not used for commercial purposes.
He further directed the concerned authorities to regularly feed SKIMS and other tertiary care health institutions as per need.
Khan asked the representatives of oil companies to immediately bring the issues and problems, if any, to the notice of divisional administration so that timely action is taken.
With regards to the snow clearance measures, the Div Com directed the concerned snow clearance agencies to keep the snow clearance mechanism intact while asking them to ensure snow clearance on road sides as well.
He directed the CE BRO, BEACON to visit both sides of Banihal tunnel along with SSP Traffic Rural Kashmir and SSP National Highway, Jammu so that the immediate measures are taken by the agencies to keep the road fully functional. He also asked them to apply relevant chemicals on the frozen surface of the road so that slippery conditions are avoided.
To overcome the problem of slippery roads, the Div Com instructed the concerned to use chains on the trucks and tankers tyersfrom Patnitop to Qazigund. He further said that any dereliction on this count by any trucker will be dealt with under law.
The meeting was attended by Secretary, Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) PK Pole; Inspector General, Traffic J&K, T.Namgyal; Director FCS&CA, Kashmir; Medical Superintendent, SKIMS; Additional Secretary FCS&CA; SSP Trafic NHW; SP Traffic Rural Kashmir; SP Traffic City Srinagar; Chief Engineer,BRO, BEACON; Chief Engineer Mechanical Engineering; Deputy Controller LMD; Project Director Ramban NHA-1; Incharge Joint Director, Information Department, General Manager, Food Corporation of India, Jammu; State Level Coordinator IOCL, J&K Jammu; Area Sales Managers of LPG and POL from HPCL, BPCL, IOCL and other concerned officials.
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