Snow grips Srinagar; highways shut, flights grounded across Kashmir

SRINAGAR: White rooftops, soundless runways, locked highways. Fresh snowfall swept Kashmir vale Tuesday, shutting the Srinagar–Jammu nationalist highway, cancelling each flights and stranding hundreds of tourists — but residents and visitors celebrated Srinagar’s archetypal achromatic greeting of the season.

Kashmir’s wintertime returned with force, reminding wherefore snowfall successful the portion stops beingness and steals hearts.A 2nd occidental disturbance draped Kashmir vale and Pir Panjal ranges successful snow, reaching Srinagar metropolis successful cardinal Kashmir and upland corridors linking the portion to Jammu. Authorities halted each aerial postulation astatine Srinagar airport, citing unsafe runway conditions. “Due to adverse upwind and continuous snowfall, the runway is not disposable for harmless craft operations.

All flights to and from Srinagar person been cancelled for the day,” an airdrome authoritative said, urging passengers to cheque with airlines arsenic crews show conditions.Srinagar metropolis received astir 5 inches of snowfall from greeting till afternoon, portion the precocious reaches and surrounding areas were deed harder.Road links snapped. NH44, connecting Kashmir to Jammu, astir 300km south, was closed successful some directions aft dense snowfall successful Banihal and Ramban.

Mughal Road, the alternate way to Poonch district, astir 100km southwest of Srinagar, and Sinthan Pass, linking the vale to Kishtwar successful Chenab valley, astir 130km southeast, were besides shut.Traffic constabulary advised tourists and locals to travel authoritative question advisories and asked circuit operators not to nonstop cabs onto the highway, citing deficiency of facilities amid accumulating snow. Trekkers and residents were cautioned against higher reaches owed to avalanche risk.The disruption followed a little reopening of flights Sunday aft past week’s utmost upwind — winds gusting up to 155kmph and snowfall — blocked highways, chopped power, closed schools and ripped roofs crossed parts of Kashmir, Pir Panjal and Chenab valley.Weather officials expect betterment from Tuesday evening, with airy rainfall imaginable astatine immoderate places connected Jan 28 and adust conditions apt done Jan 31.Another occidental disturbance is forecast to get connected the evening of Feb 1, with wide rainfall and dense snowfall apt implicit higher elevations of Kashmir and Pir Panjal.For galore successful Srinagar, untouched by past week’s snow, the greeting brought joy. Social media filled with photos of achromatic lanes and houseboats dusted on Dal Lake. In Gulmarg, the skis edifice astir 50km westbound of Srinagar, caller snowfall added to past week’s base, drafting much tourists and skiers.