Fresh snowfall in Kashmir, flights at Srinagar Airport affected
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended Wednesday morning after heavy rains triggered shooting of stones at a few places in Ramban district that left a truck driver dead and two others injured, officials said.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to reach the highway township of Banihal from Ramban district headquarters during the day.
An official of the traffic department said the shooting stones from the hillocks overlooking the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, at a couple of places between Ramban and Banihal forced suspension of traffic.
The shooting stones were triggered by heavy rains at Mehar and Panthiyal, he said, adding the road clearance agencies are ready with their men and machines to make the road traffic worthy once the shooting of stones stops.
Police officials said a driver was killed and two others injured when a truck and an oil tanker were hit by rolling boulders at Magarkot in the early hours of the day.
The body of the deceased was shifted to a mortuary, while the injured who were travelling in the tanker were evacuated to hospital, the officials said.
It was still raining heavily in Ramban sector, while most parts of Banihal and Kashmir valley experienced snowfall this morning. The weather office has forecast heavy snowfall over middle and higher reaches and rains in plains for the day.
In view of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the traffic department has issued a detailed advisory to ensure hassle-free vehicular movement on the highway and avoid any unnecessary inconvenience to the people.
The department has declared the yatra route from Batti-Matra-forest Check post road as a “no traffic zone” and also advised people of Ramban town and adjoining areas not to park any vehicle on the road during the foot march.
The traffic department also said no vehicle will be allowed from Qazigund (Kashmir) towards Ramban till the yatra reaches its camping site at Lamber in Banihal, where it will stay for the night before entering Kashmir on January 27. The advisory also requested the Army and paramilitary forces to avoid vehicular movement during the yatra.
Meanwhile, fresh snowfall in most places of Kashmir brought down visibility to 500 metres, affecting air traffic to and from the Valley.
Light to moderate snowfall was recorded at most places of Kashmir while the higher reaches witnessed heavy snowfall. The weather department has predicted that the intensity of precipitation will decrease as the day progresses.
All flights at the Srinagar airport were delayed. Although snow accumulation was not much at the airport, low visibility — which was down to 500 metres — affected flight operations, officials said. The flight operations will start once the visibility improves to at least 1,000 metres, they added.
The minimum temperatures improved across the Valley.
The mercury in Srinagar settled at a low of zero degree Celsius — up from minus 2.3 degrees Celsius. Qazigund, the gateway to the Kashmir Valley, registered a low of minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, the officials said. According to the traffic department, there were some incidents of shooting stones amid rains at some places along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, but the traffic was through. It also advised people not to take the highway between Nashri and Banihal till the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through.
“In view of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Ramban towards Banihal, no vehicular movement shall be allowed from Qazigund towards Banihal-Ramban and from Nashri towards Ramban-Banihal,” the traffic department said.
Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.7 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Kupwara settled at minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.
In Gulmarg, the minimum temperature was minus 4.6 degrees Celsius up from minus 9.5 degrees Celsius. It was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir. Pahalgam, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, up six notches from the previous night. The meteorological office said overcast conditions with light snow or rain at isolated places were likely on Thursday.
Kashmir is currently in the grip of ‘Chillai Kalan’, the 40-day harshest weather period when chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent. Chillai Kalan begins on December 21 and ends on January 30. The cold wave continues even after that with the 20-day ‘Chillai Khurd’ and the 10-day-long ‘Chillai Bachha’ following it.
