Srinagar-Jammu NH reopens; cold wave tightens grip in J-K

The Srinagar-Jammu national highway, connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country, was opened for vehicular traffic today, a day after heavy snowfall at many places along the route led to its closure.

"The Srinagar-Jammu highway is open for traffic and the vehicles are being allowed to ply from Jammu towards Srinagar," a spokesman of the Traffic Department said.

The 294-km arterial highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, was closed for traffic yesterday in the wake of landslides due to heavy snowfall at many places along the route.

Meanwhile, many parts of the Valley received light rainfall and the cold wave tightened its grip as the minimum temperature fell in most parts, even as the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg received light snowfall and was colder than Ladakh region's Leh town.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded a low of 1.2 degrees Celsius last night, a degree up from 0.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, a MeT Department official here said.

Mercury in Qazigund - the gateway town to Kashmir Valley - settled at minus 1.1 degrees Celsius, down by over a degree from the previous night’s zero degrees Celsius. The town received 6.6 mm of rainfall.

The tourist resort of Pahalgam, in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 5.7 degrees Celsius as compared to minus 5.2 degrees Celsius previous night, the official said.

The mercury in the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg plummeted by over five degrees to settle at a low of minus 10.4 degrees Celsius as against the previous night’s minus 5.2 degrees Celsius.

The resort recorded 9 cm of fresh snowfall.

The mercury in Kokernag, in south Kashmir, decreased by over four degrees to settle at a low of minus 5.7 degrees Celsius last night, as against the previous night’s minimum of minus 1.3 degree Celsius.

The town received 3.2 mm of rainfall, the official said.

North Kashmir’s Kupwara, which recorded a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, settled at minus 0.4 degree Celsius last night and the town recorded 3.2 mm of rains.

The minimum temperature in Leh, in Ladakh region, decreased by over four degrees to settle at a low of minus 9.0 degrees Celsius as against minus 4.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Kargil was the coldest place in the state as the mercury settled at a low of minus 15.4 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night’s minus 15.0 degrees Celsius.

The MeT Department has said there would be further fall in the night temperature while the maximum temperatures would rise over the next few days.