SRINAGAR, Feb 25: Only stranded vehicles were allowed to move towards Jammu from this side of Jawahar Tunnel on the National Highway, connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country.
Meanwhile, roads connecting dozens of far flung and remote areas, including those near the Line of Control (LoC), Mughal road and the highway connecting Ladakh with Kashmir valley, remained closed.
No fresh vehicle was allowed from Srinagar, a traffic police official said this afternoon.
He said vehicles, which were stranded at Lower-Munda and on this side of the tunnel, were allowed to move towards Jammu on the highway.
The official said the decision to allow fresh vehicles on the highway will be taken only after receiving green signal from the traffic police officials posted at different places as it was raining.
He said heavy rain triggered landslides and shooting stones at Jawahar Tunnel, Penthal and Ramban area on the 300-km long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, forcing authorities to suspend traffic.
However, some vehicles, majority of them empty trucks, stranded on this side of the Jawahar Tunnel, were allowed to move towards Jammu early this morning.
But later, all traffic was stopped following landslides, they said, adding the Border Roads Organization (BRO), responsible for maintenance of the highway, has pressed into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the landslides.
This afternoon only, stranded vehicles at several places, including at Lower Munda were cleared towards Jammu, he said.
Business and other activities were affected badly in most areas, including civil lines, in the summer capital, Srinagar, as majority of roads were waterlogged because of 45.4 mm rainfall and fresh snow during the night. It was heavily raining in the city resulting in severe cold.
The main Exhibition crossing-Airport road near the famous “Kashmir Haat” remained under about two feet of water. The entrance of the exhibition, one of the major attraction of tourists in the city and nearby parking besides road going to a private school also remained waterlogged.
Majority shops in the exhibition, dealing in Kashmir Arts, also remained closed.
Dozens of shops on both sides of the Magarmal-Sarai-e-Bala road also remained closed as the road was under two feet of water.
Similarly road at Hari Singh High Street (HSHS), part of Lal Chowk, Regal Chowk, Polo View and Iqbal park also remained under water, making the pedestrian and traffic movement almost impossible.
Major traffic jam was witnessed particularly on Rambagh-Exhibition crossing as the waterlogged road had been damaged.
Meanwhile, the water level in river Jhelum and its tributaries besides flood channel has witnessed several feet increase during the past 24 hours.
Swift and timely action by Army personnel has saved the lives of 41 passengers, including women and a child, who got stuck near Khooni Nala in Jammu and Kashmir due to heavy snowfall and slippery road conditions.
A Defence Ministry spokesperson here this afternoon said, Army based at Nasta Chhun Pass received information that 35 men, five women and one child were stranded near Khooni Nala of Nasta Chhun Pass due to heavy snowfall and ice formation.
After receiving the information about the stranded passengers, an avalanche rescue team deployed at Nasta Chhun Pass braving all odds moved to the location despite bad weather, snow blizzard and night condition.
The spokesperson also said that the villagers were safely brought to Nasta Chhun Pass and provided with medical care and refreshments by the Army.
The spokesperson said the timely and prompt assistance provided by the Army not only rescued 41 civilians but also ensured that they safely reached their destination.
Efforts of the Army were highly appreciated by the locals of the area, he added.
Two flights operating from Leh airport in Ladakh region to Srinagar International Airport were today cancelled due to bad weather and poor visibility, official sources said here this afternoon.
“An Air India flight which operates between Leh and Srinagar every Wednesday was cancelled while a GoAir flight was grounded following poor visibility and rain in Leh,” they said.
Due to the cancellation of these flights, hundreds of passengers got stranded in Leh as the National Highway connecting Ladakh and the rest of the State has been closed since December last year due to heavy snowfall.
However, all the flights from Srinagar airport operated normally despite bad weather.
The famous tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam in Kashmir experienced fresh snowfall, while the intermittent rains continued in other parts of the Valley for the second day today.
The MeT department has predicted heavy rains or snow at few places over the next 24 hours.
Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir and the star attraction for tourists especially skiers from abroad, received 35.6 cm (14 inch) of fresh snow during the night, a MeT spokesman said here.
He said the minimum temperature in the resort went down by over two degrees from minus 0.2 degree Celsius yesterday to settle at minus 2.6 degrees Celsius today.
Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded 9 cm of fresh snow and the mercury there settled at a low of 0.2 degree Celsius – over a degree down from 1.5 degrees Celsius the previous night, the spokesman said.
He said Kupwara, in north Kashmir, also received 2.5 cm of snowfall during the night and the minimum temperature in the town went down two degrees from 3.1 degrees Celsius yesterday to settle at 1.2 degrees Celsius.
Srinagar continued to receive intermittent rains since yesterday and the city recorded 45.4 mm of rainfall during the night, the spokesman said.
He said Srinagar registered the minimum temperature of 0.4 degree Celsius – a decrease of over five degrees from 5.9 degrees Celsius the previous night.
He said Qazigund on Srinagar-Jammu national highway recorded a low of 2.0 degrees Celsius – down from the previous night’s 3.2 degrees Celsius. The town received 39.8 mm of rainfall, he added.
Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, registered the minimum temperature of 1.0 degree Celsius – nearly three degrees down from 3.9 degrees Celsius yesterday.
The town received 48.5 mm of rains during the night, the spokesman said.
Leh, the frontier town in Ladakh region, recorded the minimum temperature of 1.7 degrees Celsius as against the previous night’s minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said, adding the mercury settled above the freezing point there for the first time since it plunged below zero degrees – more than three months ago.
The nearby Kargil town registered a low of minus 3.9 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, he said.
He said Kargil received 10.2 cm of snowfall and continues to be the coldest recorded place in the state.
The MeT Department said heavy rains or snow would occur at a few places over the state during the next 24 hours, while warning of a fresh Western Disturbance affecting the state from February 28. (Agencies)
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