Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Mar 3: Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained closed for traffic for second consecutive day today and will remain closed for tomorrow after heavy snowfall and landslides blocked it.
IGP Traffic, Muneer Ahmad Khan, told Excelsior that a major landslide at Khairi Udhampur has blocked the highway leading to closure of the highway. He said that the highway has been closed for traffic for tomorrow and work on clearing the landslide is going on.
Khan said that there was 4 inch fresh snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel area of the highway but almost 90 percent of the highway was cleared of snow and landslides.
Meanwhile, Doda-Kishtwar road also remained blocked due to incessant rains and landslides.
The air traffic that remained disrupted yesterday resumed today after improvement in weather. However, the Srinagar-Leh flight could not be operated. Not a single flight operated yesterday from Srinagar Airport due to poor visibility.
The Officials in Srinagar today issued fresh avalanche warning after continuous snowfall during the night.
There is a medium danger avalanche warning in the avalanche prone areas of Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir, Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian in south Kashmir and Ganderbal district in central Kashmir.
The Deputy Commissioners of these districts were asked to advise people not to venture out in the avalanche-prone areas. However, in case of any emergency people should take extra precautions.
The fresh overnight snow and rains caused water logging in majority of the areas of Srinagar city. People and commuters faced difficulty due to water logging. The waterlogging in periphery of the city has led to majority of them people sitting indoors.
In countryside the swollen streams due to encroachment over the years inundated several localities. People have demanded immediate removal of these encroachments from the streams.
The Meteorological Department has forecast more snow and rains in the region till March 10. “There will be intermittent rain and snow during this period and weather will show improvement and remain mostly pleasant for the rest of the month after March 10”, an official said.
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