Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 8: The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway that was closed last evening after snowfall at many places along the route was re-opened for traffic this morning.
The Inspector General of Police Traffic, Muneer Ahmad Khan, told Excelsior that the highway was re-opened for traffic this morning after it was closed following snowfall around Jawahar Tunnel area last evening.
Khan said that 3000 vehicles including load carriers and passenger vehicles crossed Jawahar Tunnel into Kashmir valley today amid rainfall in Banihal area in the evening.
The IGP said that if weather permits the one-way traffic on the highway will be allowed to ply from Srinagar to Jammu tomorrow. He said that it is raining in the Banihal sector but weather forecast shows no major disturbance.
There was light snowfall in the hills of Kashmir with parts of plains receiving light rains. Qazigund in South Kashmir received 6.6 mm of rainfall last night, Kokernag town received 3.2 mm rainfall, Gulmarg in North Kashmir, recorded 9 centimetres of fresh snowfall, and Kupwara town recorded 3.2 mm rain.
Police said here that a residential house was damaged due to heavy snowfall, while a man was rescued under an avalanche in Kupwara district today.
A police spokesman said Sarfaraz Ahmad Khan son of Mohammad Ayub Khan of Khatan Nunwani came under a snow avalanche while he was on the way carrying drinking water. He was rescued by the locals of the area.
Police said a residential house of Abdul Majeed Deedaed son of Haji Sher Mohammad of Nunwani Kalaroos, Kupwara, was damaged due to heavy snowfall.
And in the meantime, parts of Kashmir valley received light rainfall and the cold wave tightened its grip as the minimum temperature fell in most parts of the region.
A Meteorological Department official said here that there would be further fall in the night temperature while the maximum temperatures would rise over the next few days.
The official said here that Srinagar recorded a low of 1.2 degree Celsius last night, a degree up from 0.2 degree Celsius the previous night and maximum day temperature was recorded at 9.9 degree Celsius.
Qazigund in South Kashmir settled at minus 1.1 degree Celsius, down by over a degree from the previous night’s zero degree Celsius.
Pahalgam, recorded a low of minus 5.7 degree Celsius as compared to minus 5.2 degree Celsius previous night while maximum day temperature settled at 6.2 degree Celsius.
The temperature in Gulmarg plummeted by over five degrees to settle at a low of minus 10.4 degree Celsius as against the previous night’s minus 5.2 degree Celsius.
The temperature in Kokernag, in south Kashmir, decreased by over four degrees to settle at a low of minus 5.7 degree Celsius last night, as against the previous night’s minimum of minus 1.3 degree Celsius while day temperature settled at 5.1 degree Celsius.
North Kashmir’s Kupwara, which recorded a low of 0.2 degree Celsius the previous night, settled at minus 0.4 degree Celsius last night.
The minimum temperature in Leh decreased by over four degree to settle at a low of minus 9.0 degree Celsius as against minus 4.8 degree Celsius the previous night and maximum day temperature settled at 4.1 degree Celsius.
Kargil was the coldest place in the State as the mercury settled at a low of minus 15.4 degree Celsius as compared to the previous night’s minus 15.0 degree Celsius and day temperature at the place settled at 2. 4 degree Celsius.
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