The Jammu-Srinagar Highway was closed for vehicular traffic for the second day on Tuesday due to heavy rain and snowfall, PTI reported. The highway is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir to the rest of India.
Heavy rain in Banihal, Ramban and Patnitop districts and snowfall on both sides of the Jawahar Tunnel led to the closure of the 300-kilometre highway. “Apart from shooting stones at Panthial, it was snowing heavily in areas around Jawahar Tunnel,’’ The Ramban traffic control room said according to The Indian Express.
On Monday, the highest rainfall – 14.3 mm – was recorded at Batote town in Ramban. Pahalgam recorded a snowfall of one inch. There was very heavy snowfall in the hills of Doda, in Kishtwar, Ramban, Kathua, Rajouri, Reasi and Poonch districts, PTI reported. The India Meteorological Department has predicted snowfall or rain in many parts of Kashmir till Wednesday.
Flight operations at Srinagar airport were suspended on Tuesday due to heavy snowfall causing low visibility, airport director Sharad Kumar said. The situation will be reviewed during the day to check if visibility improves enough for flights to resume.
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