Fresh snowfall in Kashmir areas
Highway reopens for one-way traffic; 3 injured in avalanche
Kashmir’s higher received fresh snowfall while rains lashed the plains on Sunday even as the Srinagar-Jammu highway was reopened for one-way traffic.
Meteorological Department officials said upper reaches, including Gulmarg, received fresh snowfall while plains, including Srinagar, received rain.
“Snow and rains resulted in drop in maximum temperature. The night temperature continues to remain above normal,” they said.
“A Western Disturbance (WD) is active that would result in moderate to heavy rain or snow at most places in the state during next 24 hours,” MeT officials said, adding, “Weather will improve significantly from Tuesday afternoon.”
MeT officials said Gulmarg reaches including Kongdori, Affarwat, and Khilanmarg received moderate to heavy snowfall. “There has been snowfall on Line of Control (LoC) in frontier district of Kupwara,” they said.
Reports of fresh snowfall were also received from higher reaches of Bandipora district. “Mughal road also experienced fresh snowfall at several places,” officials said, adding, Pahalgam in south Kashmir received rains.
HIGHWAY REOPENED
The 300-km Jammu-Srinagar highway, connecting Kashmir with rest of the world, was reopened for one-way traffic on Sunday, police said. The road was closed in the wake of a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Udhampur.
“The highway was reopened for vehicular traffic this afternoon after clearance of the landslide, making it trafficable for one-way,” Inspector General of Police, Traffic, Muneer Ahmad Khan told .
He said traffic moved from Srinagar to Jammu on Sunday. “We had closed the highway in the wake of a big landslide triggered by heavy rains at Khari belt on Chenani-Udhampur stretch of the road,” he said, adding that large number of vehicles remained stranded on the highway as a result of the blockade.
3 INJURED IN PULWAMA AVALANCHE
Three people were injured when they came under a snow avalanche in south Kashmir district of Pulwama, police said.
They said that a massive operation has been launched to shift the local population from avalanche prone areas.
“A group of three people came under an avalanche at Branpatheri Nagbal, Tral, in south Kashmir, which received heavy snowfall recently. Police and locals immediately launched an operation and rescued them in an injured condition,” police said, and identified the injured as Zakir Hussain Paswal, Qasim Paswal and Gulzar Ahmad, residents of Pranpatheri Nagbal, Tral.
Police said that they were admitted to sub district hospital and their condition is stable.