Alert For Tourists Visiting J&K: Heavy Snowfall Disrupts Life In Kashmir; Flights, Rail Services Suspended, Jammu-Srinagar Highway Closed

SRINAGAR: The Kashmir Valley received the season's heaviest snowfall on Saturday which threw normal life out of gear, affecting air, rail and road traffic as well as disrupting power and water supply, officials said. Chief minister Omar Abdullah reviewed the snow clearance operations in a video conference meeting with all deputy commissioners.

Moderate to heavy snowfall was recorded across Kashmir from Friday, including the season's first snowfall in Srinagar city and other plain areas. In South Kashmir, heavy to very heavy snowfall was recorded in the plains, while central Kashmir's plains received moderate snowfall. The plains of North Kashmir received light to moderate snowfall, officials said.

The upper areas of the South Kashmir district received over two feet of snow, they added. Though the snowfall was welcomed by locals and tourists, it threw daily life out of gear. The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) was closed for traffic due to snow, according to Traffic Department officials. They added that clearance work was hampered due to heavy snowfall at the Navyug Tunnel.

Men and machinery are on the job, and commuters are advised to avoid travel until the weather improves and the road is cleared, the officials said.
Train services on the Banihal-Baramulla section were suspended due to heavy snow accumulation on the tracks, railway officials said. Efforts to clear the track are underway, they added.

Air traffic to and from Srinagar was also affected, with flight operations suspended, according to airport officials. "Due to bad weather conditions, all flights at Srinagar Airport have been cancelled. No flight operations have taken place at the airport since the morning due to inclement weather," officials said. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines for updates.

Flight operations have been affected since Friday evening. The authorities launched snow clearance operations at district headquarters and while most of the main roads and roads to hospitals were cleared by morning itself, interior roads were cleared by noon, the officials said. Abdullah directed the deputy commissioners to personally supervise snow clearance operations, emphasizing the need to obtain photographic evidence of cleared areas to ensure thorough removal and prevent roads from freezing as temperatures drop.

District administrations were instructed to provide two-hourly updates to the CM's office and the chief secretary's office. The Chief Engineer of Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department informed the meeting that 90 per cent of the water supply across the valley had been restored, with efforts underway to address the remaining 10 per cent, officials said.

The Divisional Commissioner of Jammu reported that power and water supplies in Jammu districts remained unaffected, while the chief secretary confirmed steady progress in restoring electricity feeders and assured that district hospitals were functioning smoothly. The chief minister stressed the importance of ensuring 100 per cent attendance of doctors and paramedical staff at all district and sub-district hospitals to effectively manage emergencies.

Special instructions were issued to the deputy commissioner of Budgam to coordinate with airport authorities to assist stranded tourists and provide transportation if required, officials said. The Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir assured that sufficient stocks of essential commodities, including food and other civil supplies, were available in all districts.

Taking to X, Abdullah said most of the dysfunctional power feeders in the valley had been restored. "Out of forty-one 33KV feeders dysfunctional in Kashmir due to heavy snowfall, thirty-seven have been restored and charged. Similarly, out of 739 dysfunctional 11KV feeders, 639 have been restored and recharged, bringing major relief to the valley," Abdullah said.

He said the majority of the remaining feeders were expected to be restored by the evening. Abdullah also toured several areas of Srinagar city and visited his assembly constituency, Ganderbal, to take stock of the situation, officials said. He made an unannounced visit to District Hospital Ganderbal and assessed the services available to patients during the inclement weather and reviewed the availability of essential medicines, staff on duty, and the functionality of the central heating system.

Abdullah interacted with the hospital staff, as well as patients and their attendants. Speaking to reporters in Ganderbal, Abdullah said he wanted to visit his constituency to ensure that people did not face too many hardships due to the snow. "I wanted to see that the snow clearance operations on roads are sped up, take stock of hospital and essential services, and the restoration of electricity wherever the lines were snapped," he said.

Meanwhile, minimum temperatures went up by several notches across the valley, the MeT Department said.

Srinagar recorded a low of minus 1 degree Celsius on Friday night, more than six degrees up from the previous night's low of minus 7.3 degrees Celsius, it said. Gulmarg, a town known for skiing activities in North Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam, the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra in South Kashmir, registered a minimum temperature of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of the 40-day 'Chillai-Kalan' -- considered the harshest period of winter -- which began on December 21.