Flights disrupted at Srinagar airport

Despite clear weather, flight operations at the Srinagar airport remained disrupted on Saturday while the Srinagar-Jammu national highway continues to remain closed.

There was fresh snowfall in the higher reaches as well as the plains, including Srinagar, on Friday night, a MeT department official said. The snowfall led to the cancellation of flights and delays at the Srinagar airport.

"Few flights have been cancelled today because of bad weather, while most others have been delayed," an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.

Srinagar-Jammu national highway, only road link between Kashmir and rest of the country, remained closed as the 264-km road has been blocked by landslides at several places on the other side of Pir Panjal mountain range and accumulation of snow, an official said.

With the local meteorological department predicting moderate to heavy snowfall and rain in Kashmir in the next five days, all eyes are on the administration’s preparedness to deal with any arising eventuality. The Met department has warned that the snowfall is likely to cause disruption of surface and air traffic and may lead to avalanches and landslides in higher reaches, and water logging in the low-lying areas.

The weather forecast has also prompted the administration to prepare zone and location-wise action and management plans to prevent interruption in services during the inclement weather situations. Joint control rooms have been established in deputy commissioners’ offices to oversee show clearance operations and ensure coordination among various agencies in case of any eventuality, he said.

The coldest period of Kashmir winter - locally known as 'Chillai Kalan' - has set in on December 21 and will end on January 30. The 40-day long 'Chillai Kalan' is considered as the harshest period of winter in the Valley when the chances of snowfall are high, and the temperature drops considerably.