Avalanche warning issued
Srinagar : The Jammu-Srinagar highway, Mughal road, Srinagar-Leh highway and other routes connecting the border villages were closed following fresh snowfall on Wednesday.
Officials told GNS that the Srinagar-Jammu thoroughfare was closed in the afternoon due to snowfall at Jawahar tunnel. “As a precautionary measure, the Srinagar-Jammu highway was closed due to the slippery road conditions following the accumulation of snow around the Jawahar tunnel,” a traffic official told GNS.
He said that subject to the fair weather conditions, the traffic will be allowed to ply from Jammu to Srinagar.
Due to the closure of the strategic highway connecting Kashmir with rest of India, hundreds of trucks got stranded at many places at Udhampur and Qazigund sectors.
Meanwhile, following the fresh snowfall in the high altitude areas including Pir Ki Gali, District Administration Shopian closed Mughal road till further orders.
The Mughal road- connecting the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with South Kashmir’s Shopian district was closed early today morning following fresh snowfall in the upper reaches like Pir Ki Gali.
An official from district administration told that the road will remain closed till the snow clearance will be completed and after the improvement in the weather.
According to Chief Engineer Mughal Road Project, Jammu Mughal road has been closed for vehicular traffic between Chandimarh in Poonch district of Jammu region and Heerpora village in Shopian district of Kashmir region from January 01, 2019.
“The decision has been taken due to the sharp dip in temperatures and frost action, which has set in slippery conditions on the road surface”.
The 434-kilometer Srinagar-Leh was also closed following snowfall early Wednesday morning. Officials said that no vehicles would be allowed on the thoroughfare till the road was made traffic worthy.
Similarly, an official said the Bandipora-Gurez, Tanghdar-Kupwara, Machil-Kupwara and Keran-Kupwara roads were closed for all types of traffic after heavy snowfall in these areas.
Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Rafiq Ahmad Lone today directed Mechanical Engineering department to redouble efforts for expediting snow clearance in the area to provide relief to people.
The SDM was chairing a meeting of concerned officers directed the FCS&CA officials to ensure regular supply of essential commodities to the general public. Instructions were given to the electric department to ensure adequate power supply and fixing of faults on an emergency basis.
The SDM also advised the general public to avoid movement during the heavy snowfall, particularly near avalanche-prone areas.
Meanwhile, there was, however, some respite from the intense cold as the day temperature rose slightly owing to overcast conditions, with Srinagar recording 6.5 degree Celsius while Qazigund recorded 5.8 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature in Pahalgam was recorded 5.3 degree Celsius, 4.5 in Kupwara, 6.1 in Kokernag, 2.6 in Gulmarg, 3.9 in Leh and minus 1.5 in Kargil.
The Met department has predicted light to moderate rain and snowfall throughout the valley in the next couple of days. In the Ladakh region, heavy snowfall at isolated places is expected.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are the most and the temperature drops considerably.
‘Chillai-Kalan’ ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).
Meanwhile, as per the communication of Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, there is a danger of avalanches from January 02, 2019 (1700 hrs) to 3rd January 2019 (1700 hrs) in avalanche prone areas of Bandipora, Baramulla, Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Kupwara, Ganderbal, Leh and Kargil districts of Kashmir Division.
The Deputy Commissioners of the concerned districts have been asked to advise people not to venture out in avalanche prone areas during the period.
Besides, the DCs have also been asked to take precautionary measures and to keep the SDRF, Police, para-medical staff with ambulances in readiness to avert any untoward incident. (GNS)
