Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 21: The hills of Kashmir today received fresh snowfall while the plains received rains marking the beginning of 40-day harshest part of winter while two persons including a tourist was killed at Ski resort of Gulmarg when their vehicle skidded off the road this evening.
Reports said that a Travera vehicle bearing registration number JK01T 4752, skidded off the slippery road at Zig in Gulmarg due to snow. Driver of the vehicle and a tourist were killed as the vehicles rolled down into a deep gorge.
Six tourists were in the cab but five of them preferred to foot the slippery part of the road and one preferred to sit in the vehicle. The driver lost the control on his vehicle and it fell in a gorge killing driver Fayaz Ahmad Dar son of Ghulam Mohammad Dar of Arampora, Zero bridge, Srinagar and Omprakash son of Charnee Ram of New Delhi.
Police rushed to the spot to carry out the rescue operation but they recovered the dead body of the driver while tourist who was rescued in injured condition succumbed to his injuries on his way to Sub-District Hospital, Tangmarg.
The hills of Kashmir received light snowfall since morning while plains of the Valley received light rains in the evening. Chilly winds were blowing across since morning on the first day of Chilia Kalan. Majority of the people preferred to remain indoors due to intense cold. The 40-day severest part of winter starts from December 21 and during this period night temperatures mostly remained sub-zero leading to freezing of water bodies and water tapes.
The Director Meteorological Office in Srinagar, Sonam Lotus said here that light to moderate snowfall is expected in the higher reaches of Kashmir Valley like Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Shopian, Kupwara and Pahalgam. “There is also a possibility of light snowfall followed by rain in Srinagar during the night”, he said.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.9 degree Celsius, almost a degree down from the previous night’s minus 3.0 degree Celsius.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 7.0 degree Celsius, same as the previous night. The mercury in Pahalgam settled at a low of minus 5.6 degree Celsius, as against minus 7.3 degree Celsius the previous night.
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, recorded a low of minus 3.2 degree Celsius, compared to the previous night’s minus 4.8 degree Celsius. Kokernag, in south Kashmir, which recorded a low of minus 4.1 degree Celsius the previous night, registered an increase of two degrees in the night temperature to settle at a low of minus 2.2 degree Celsius.
Kupwara in north Kashmir also recorded a rise of two degrees in the night temperature as the mercury settled at a low of minus 3.1 degree Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 5.2 degree Celsius.
Leh remained the coldest place in the State and registered a temperature of minus 12.4 degree Celsius, against minus 11.2 degree Celsius the previous night. The nearby Kargil town registered the same minimum temperature as the previous night’s low of minus 11.2 degree Celsius.
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