Snowfall brings life to halt in Kashmir

Kashmir valley on Wednesday received fresh snowfall, leading to the closure of roads in far-flung areas besides the delay of several flights operating from the Srinagar airport. The local train services have also been suspended.

Srinagar (Jammu-Kashmir):Widespread snowfall across Kashmir on Wednesday disrupted normal life as flight operations, surface transport and routine activities of life came to a grinding halt. "It has been continuously snowing in the entire Valley since last night and around 6 inches of snow has accumulated on the ground in Srinagar city. On higher altitudes, around 1 feet snow has been recorded," an official from the Weather department said.

"Though Srinagar had witnessed light snowfall on January 4, 2022, this is major snowfall of the season for the city residents," he further said.

Meanwhile, three flights operating from Srinagar have been cancelled because of the continuous snowfall and low visibility.

"Operations from the Srinagar International Airport have been affected as visibility at the runway has dropped to less than 500 metres. So far three scheduled flights have been cancelled," an airport official said.

Meanwhile, the local train services from Baramulla to Banihal and vice-versa have also been suspended.

Speaking about surface transport, a senior government official said, "Train services from Banihal to Baramulla have been suspended for the day while multiple landslides at different places have blocked the Srinagar-Jammu national highway," adding that " due to the bad weather situation all examinations have been postponed by all universities in the Kashmir valley."

"We have received complaints about electricity. Road clearance and electricity restoration are going on at 'war footing'. Helpline numbers have also been set up by the divisional administration to attend to emergencies across the Valley," he added.

The weather office, however, said weather conditions are expected to improve from tomorrow.

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