Srinagar: With very little rains and snowfall during the past week, the majority of places across Kashmir continued to witness prolonged dry spells as the mercury plummeted to the season’s lowest at several parts of the Valley with Srinagar, recording the coldest night so far at minus 5.4 degree Celsius.
However, the freezing temperatures fail to break the will of people, trading in lotus stems (Nadroo) who brave the ice to pull out it from deep inside the Anchar Lake to sell it and survive.
Lotus stem (Kamal Kakdi elsewhere in India and Nadroo in Kashmir) is a delicacy for the Kashmiri populace. It goes with fish, mong daal, palak and so many other things and its yakhni, with curd is ultimate.
However, how much labour goes into pulling it out from lake waters, not every consumer is aware of.
While those dealing in Nadroo wouldn’t give a fig to the chill and icy waters, intense cold conditions prevailed in parts of the Kashmir valley as Srinagar and many other places recorded the lowest minimum temperatures of the season so far owing to clear skies, the officials said.
The night temperature was 2.7 to 5.7 degrees down from the normal for this time of the season, they said.
The officials said Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night’s minus 3.3 degrees Celsius.
Monday night was the coldest night of the season so far in the city and the night temperature was 4.8 degrees down from the normal, they said.
The water supply pipes froze due to the intense cold in a few areas of the valley, the officials said.
The night temperature at Sonamarg settled at minus 9.7 degree Celsius, making it the coldest place in the Valley followed by Gumarg which recorded minus 9.0 degrees Celsius.
Pahalgam, which serves as base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 8.4 degrees Celsius, they said.
Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir registered the minimum of minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, and Kokernag in south Kashmir minus 4 degrees Celsius.
While the higher reaches of Kashmir experienced snowfall on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, there has been no snowfall in the plains of the valley.
The dry spell in the plains has resulted in increase in ailments like cough and common cold, the officials said.
The doctors have advised the people, especially the children and elderly, to take precautions and stay indoors.
The weather office has forecast mainly dry weather in Kashmir till December 18, with a possibility of light snowfall in isolated places in the higher reaches of the valley on December 12.
While Kashmir is undergoing cold wave-like conditions, the valley is bracing for the 40-day harshest winter period which will begin on December 21.
