The Kashmir Valley received fresh snowfall and remained cut off from the rest of the country for the second consecutive day on Thursday, PTI reported. The strategic Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which connects the region to the rest of India, remained closed after fresh snowfall in Bannihal sector and landslides in Ramsoo-Ramban.
Flight operations were disrupted at the Srinagar Airport. All flights were cancelled for the day.
The snow in Kashmir and rainfall in several places in Jammu region forced people to remain indoors. Most roads remained inaccessible and completely snowed under. Fresh snowfall started early on Thursday in Srinagar, which recorded a temperature of 0.5 degrees Celsius. Pahalgam and Gulmarg recorded minus 0.6 degrees Celsius and minus 4 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Kashmiri residents took to Twitter to share images and videos of Srinagar’s iconic Dal Lake as its colourful ‘shikaras’, or house boats, remained covered under sheets of fresh snow. The weather department said a western disturbance active over the state is likely to weaken on Friday.
“Significant improvement is forecast from tomorrow [Friday] onwards,” said an unidentified weather department official.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah shared regular updates and photographs on Twitter. According to him, the state administration was struggling to deal with the heavy snowfall. “We can do our bit by avoiding all but the most essential travel. It’s impossible to clear roads if cars are going to be stuck everywhere,” he tweeted.
Abdullah urged people to not venture out on the roads in cars which were not fully equipped to deal with the snowy and slippery conditions.
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