Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Feb 12: Kashmir valley received fresh snowfall today and the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway that was closed yesterday was re-opened for traffic after Border Roads Organization (BRO) cleared snow and landslides this morning.
Inspector General of Police, Traffic, Viplov Kumar, told Excelsior that the BRO cleared the snow from Jawahar Tunnel area and slides from Sherbibi area at around noon. He said that they cleared all the Srinagar and Jammu bound traffic that was stranded on the highway and also allowed some fresh traffic from Jammu towards Srinagar.
Around 400 vehicles that were stranded on the highway between Udhampur and Banihal were cleared by the Traffic police. Around 250 trucks were stranded at Banihal and around 100 Kashmir bound passenger vehicles are stranded between Ramsu and Banihal. At Sherbibi, 25-30 Jammu bound passenger vehicles were stranded due to landslides. All these were cleared first before the Traffic police allowed some traffic from Jammu towards Srinagar.
The IGP Traffic said that the traffic will ply from both sides on the highway subject to fair weather and good condition of road. He, however, said that there will be restrictions in view of slippery road conditions.
From Nagrota in Jammu, Srinagar bound passenger vehicles will be allowed to move only between 6 am to 1 pm while heavy vehicles will be permitted only between 6 am to 11 am. However, the movement of oil tankers shall be allowed upto 1 pm. No Srinagar bound passenger vehicle and oil tanker will be permitted to cross Jekhani Chowk, Udhampur after 2.30 pm while no heavy vehicle will be permitted after 1 pm.
From Qazigund, light motor vehicles shall be permitted to move towards Jammu only between 8 a.m. to 3 pm. while heavy vehicles shall be permitted only between 8:30 am. to 1 pm. However, the movement of fruit laden heavy vehicles only shall be allowed upto 3 p. m.
Earlier, it was snowing throughout the night in the hills of Kashmir. However, in Shopian area it was snowing upto 10 am. In Shopian and Kulgam areas around 3 feet of snow had accumulated in the hilly areas that led to closure of various roads in the area and snapped communication with district headquarters.
The peripheral areas of Gulmarg including Kongdoori and Aferwath recorded over three feet of snow during the past two days.
The famous hill resort of Pahalgam recorded 14 inches of snow and a drop of two degrees in the night temperature which settled at minus 2.4 degree Celsius.
Reports from Abhama, Kellar market, Sangerwani, Adi Marg and Zainapora Shopian said that the snow from the roads is yet to be cleared.
The district authorities say they have pressed men and machinery into service to restore the snapped road links besides the power and water supply.
A MeT office spokesman said the night temperature across Kashmir and Ladakh slipped below the freezing point with the famous ski resort of Gulmarg, which was covered by over one-and-a-half feet of fresh snow, emerging as the coldest recorded place in the division.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 9.6 degree Celsius – a drop of over five degrees compared to the previous night.
The minimum temperature in the summer capital Srinagar also recorded a drop and settled at minus 0.8 degree Celsius compared to 1.3 degree Celsius of the previous night.
Srinagar experienced intermittent rains and snowfall throughout the day yesterday as a result of which the maximum temperature fell to 5.3 degree Celsius – four degrees below normal during this part of the season.
The MeT office said Kargil in Ladakh region recorded a low of minus 9 degree Celsius, while the nearby Leh town recorded a minimum of minus 6 degree Celsius.
Follow our WhatsApp channel