Srinagar: Fresh snowfall in most places of Kashmir brought down visibility to 500 metres, affecting air traffic to and from the Valley on Wednesday.
Light to moderate snowfall was recorded at most places of Kashmir while the higher reaches witnessed heavy snowfall. The weather department has predicted that the intensity of precipitation will decrease as the day progresses.
All flights at the Srinagar airport were delayed. Although snow accumulation was not much at the airport, low visibility — which was down to 500 metres — affected flight operations, officials said.
The flight operations will start once the visibility improves to at least 1,000 metres, they added.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperatures improved across the Valley.
The mercury in Srinagar settled at a low of zero degree Celsius — up from minus 2.3 degrees Celsius. Qazigund, the gateway to the Kashmir Valley, registered a low of minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.7 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Kupwara settled at minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.
In Gulmarg, the minimum temperature was minus 4.6 degrees Celsius – up from minus 9.5 degrees Celsius. It was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pahalgam recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, up six notches from the previous night.
The meteorological office said overcast conditions with light snow or rain at isolated places were likely on Thursday.
Traffic suspended on Jmu-Sgrnat’l highway
Trucker dies after two vehicles hit by rolling stones
Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended Wednesday morning after heavy rains triggered shooting of stones at a few places in Ramban district that left a truck driver dead and two others injured, officials said.
An official of the Traffic department said the shooting stones from the hillocks overlooking the highway at a couple of places between Ramban and Banihal forced suspension of traffic.
The shooting stones were triggered by heavy rains at Mehar and Panthiyal, he said, adding the road clearance agencies are ready with their men and machines to make the road traffic worthy once the shooting of stones stops.
Police officials said a truck driver was killed and two others injured when a truck and an oil tanker were hit by rolling boulders at Magarkot in the early hours of the day.
The body of the deceased was shifted to a mortuary, while the injured who were travelling in the tanker were evacuated to hospital, the officials said.
It was raining heavily in Ramban sector, while most parts of Banihal and Kashmir valley experienced snowfall this morning.
In view of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Traffic department had issued a detailed advisory to ensure hassle-free vehicular movement on the highway and avoid any unnecessary inconvenience to the people.
The department had declared the Yatra route from Batti-Matra-forest Check post road as a “no traffic zone” and also advised people of Ramban town and adjoining areas not to park any vehicle on the road during the foot march.
The traffic department had also said that no vehicle will be allowed from Qazigund (Kashmir) towards Ramban till the Yatra reaches its camping site at Lamber in Banihal. The advisory had also requested the Army and paramilitary forces to avoid vehicular movement during the Yatra.
