Srinagar: Residents of Kashmir got a major respite from the intense cold wave conditions on Monday as the minimum temperatures across the Valley rose by several degrees amid fresh snowfall in many areas, including Srinagar, officials said.
A thin layer of snow on city roads, caused inconvenience to the motorists due to the snowfall since Sunday night. Authorities had to resort to manual snow sprinkling for melting snow as snow clearance machines were proving ineffective.
The respite came a day after Chillai Kalan ended and Srinagar recorded it’s lowest minimum temperature — minus 8.8 degrees Celsius — in 30 years.
Qazigund recorded a minimum of 7.6 degrees Celsius, down from minus 10.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, they said.
The minimum temperature at the Gulmarg skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district settled at minus 8.2 degrees Celsius. Pahalgam tourist resort recorded a low of minus 6.1 degrees Celsius, up from previous night’s minus 12.0 degrees Celsius.
Kupwara recorded a low of minus 2.9 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag in the south, registered minus 9.5 degrees Celsius.
Landslide Halts Highway Traffic
The authorities on Monday briefly movement of traffic on Srinagar-Jammu highway on Monday was briefly stopped after a landslide hit the road in Banihal.
Traffic was first halted on Srinagar-Jammu for a few hours after landslides blocked the road at Shahbanbas in Banihal, officials said. They said men and machinery were pressed in and the road was cleared to make a highway through for traffic.
Meanwhile, a traffic department spokesperson said on Monday that subject to fair weather and better road condition, only one way traffic shall be allowed from Jammu towards Srinagar on Tuesday.
“No vehicle including livestock/fresh perishables* shall be allowed in the opposite direction. TCU Jammu shall liaise with TCU Ramban before releasing the traffic,” the spokesperson said.
“Security Forces are advised/requested not to ply against advisory/traffic plan in view of traffic congestion on Jammu-Srinagar NHW and narrowness of Bailey bridge. They may ply from Jammu towards Srinagar after confirming the status of NHW,” he added.
The spokesperson further said that Mughal road remains closed due to snow accumulation.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
