Amid snowfall, rains; 37 flights cancelled on Wednesday
Srinagar: Air traffic to and from Kashmir remained affected for the second consecutive day on Wednesday due to inclement weather as intermittent snowfall continued in most parts of the Valley over the past 24 hours, officials said here.
Officials at Srinagar Airport said that 42 flights were scheduled today at Srinagar International Airport, out of which 37 got cancelled due to the poor visibility. The cancelled flights include one international flight as well.
They said that the resumption of air traffic would depend on the weather conditions.
The suspension of air traffic has resulted in hundreds of tourists getting stranded in the Valley.
On Tuesday, 42 flights were cancelled due to poor visibility.
It has been snowing in most places of the Valley intermittently over the past few days but the arterial Srinagar-Jammu national highway is open for vehicular traffic, an official of the Traffic department said.
However, news agency KNO reported that at least 500 heavy motor vehicles (trucks) are stranded along the Jammu-Srinagar highway, which has been closed for vehicular movement after mudslides and shooting stones near Cafeteria morh and Chanderkote in Ramban district.
Several other roads including Mughal Road, Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri and Kishtwar-Sinthan road continued to remain closed for vehicular movement as a precautionary measure owing to slippery conditions in the wake of fresh snowfall.
The commuters scheduled to travel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway have been asked to confirm the status of the road before undertaking the journey.
Meanwhile, the snowfall has resulted in warmer-than-expected nights in the Valley but the weatherman has forecast colder days for next two days.
Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of 0.8 degree Celsius, up from the previous night’s 0.6 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
Gulmarg skiing resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius, up from previous night’s 5 degrees Celsius.
The officials said Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, up from minus 1.2 degrees Celsius the previous night.
They said Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, recorded a minimum of 0.8 degrees Celsius, while the nearby south Kashmir town of Kokernag recorded a low of 0.1 degrees Celsius.
The mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of zero degrees Celsius.
The MET Office has forecast widespread snow/rain spell of moderate to heavy intensity till January 08. Heavy snow is expected at some places during the period as well, it said.
Kashmir Valley is currently under the grip of the 40-day harshest winter period known as ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ which began on December 21.
Photo/ Bilal Dar-Kashmir Images
