Snowfall disrupts normal life in Kashmir

Overnight intermittent snowfall and incessant rains in Jammu and Kashmir led to the closure of the vital Srinagar-Jammu national highway besides affecting air traffic on Thursday.

A Met Department official said while Kashmir received heavy snowfall Jammu region was lashed by rains. Srinagar received eight inches of snow till afternoon, while upper reaches received 1.5 to two feet fresh snowfall, he said.

The continued snowfall disrupted road communication and also affected the air-traffic as all inbound and outbound flights were cancelled because of poor visibility. "Due to bad weather and heavy snowfall at Srinagar Airport all flights are cancelled for today," the airport authorities announced on Twitter.

The 264-km national highway, the only surface link connecting Valley with rest of the country, remained closed for the traffic due to heavy snowfall around Jawahar Tunnel. “The road clearance operation is underway, but it gets hampered because of frequent shooting stones, fresh landslides and intermittent snowfall,” an official said, adding that men and machinery are on job to clear a landslide for the past five hours.

Reports said around 2000 vehicles, mostly trucks, are stranded on the road. The Met department has predicted widespread light to moderate rain and snow over the state during the next 24 hours.

The administration has issued a fresh avalanche warning for nine avalanche-prone districts of Kashmir, including Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kargil and Leh.

People living in avalanche-prone areas of these districts have been asked not to venture out during the warning period to avoid loss of lives, an official said.