Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 5: The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) today issued a fresh high danger avalanche warning in the hills of Kashmir after continuous snowfall for past four days as authorities re-opened the Jammu-Srinagar highway for one-way traffic despite snowfall this morning.
An official of the Jammu and Kashmir State Disaster Management Authority on the basis of information received from SASE issued High Danger avalanche warning for hilly areas of Tangmarg and Khilanmarg and adjoining hilly areas in North Kashmir.
The official issued Medium danger warning for higher reaches of Banihal, Naugam, Kaiyan, Chowkibal, Tangdhar, Macchil, Gurez, Sonamarg, Zojila, Furkiyan, Drass and Kargil. Most of these areas are near the LoC where there has been heavy snowfall during past four days.
The official said that people living in these snowbound areas have been requested to take precautions and not to venture on steep slopes. “The warning is valid for the next 24 hours”, the official said.
Sources said that six Army personnel escaped unhurt after an avalanche struck their post, 20 Mahar, in Macchil sector on the LoC in the frontier district of Kupwara today. The Army men fled to safety moments before the avalanche struck their post. The post was damaged. However, Army men escaped unhurt.
Around seven inches of fresh snow had accumulated this morning on the National Highway near Jawahar Tunnel leading to closure of the portion of highway on either side of the Jawahar Tunnel.
The Inspector General of Police, Traffic, Muneer Ahmad Khan told Excelsior that due to fresh snowfall the highway near the Jawahar Tunnel was slippery and Border Roads Organization pressed its men and machinery into service since early this morning to clear the snow from the highway.
The traffic on the highway was allowed to ply after 11 a.m. and around 3000 trucks and passenger vehicles crossed the Banihal Tunnel by evening. He said that most of these vehicles have crossed the Patnitop and are on their way to Jammu.
The IGP said that a mudslide at Digdol this morning led to the closure of highway at the spot at around 9:30 a.m. “It took BRO three hours to clear the highway and this portion was re-opened for traffic at around 12:30 p.m.”, he added.
Khan said that if weather permits one-way traffic will ply on the highway from Jammu to Srinagar tomorrow. He, however, said that the final decision will be taken tomorrow in the morning after assessing the weather and road condition.
In the meantime, it was raining at several places across the plains of Kashmir valley today while the hills received fresh snowfall.
The freak weather for past four days led to the increase in night temperature but the day temperature plummeted and icy winds were blowing across Kashmir today.
A Meteorological Department official told Excelsior that freak weather conditions would continue tomorrow and weather will improve by Friday afternoon.
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