Pix: Heavy snow brings Kashmir to halt, power supply cut

Residents of Kashmir Valley woke up to a white blanket of snow outside their houses on Saturday morning.

True to MET office forecast, the higher reaches of the valley on Friday received heavy snowfall with the mainland being lashed by rains interspersed with snow.

However, the snowfall intensified late Friday night and continued till Saturday morning. This is the third snowfall of the season as winter is about to exit paving way for spring time.

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Temperatures across the valley have already broken free of the sub-zero fold and have been leading to warmer days and nights.

The snowfall has been quite heavy in the Pir Panchal mountain range leading to closure of the strategic Jammu Srinagar national highway, the valley's only road link to the rest of the country.

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Banihal pass through which the Jawahar tunnel passes is reported to have received the seasons heaviest snowfall.

Life was affected in capital Srinagar and other towns because of the snowfall even though the separatist sponsored three-day shutdown ended on Friday.

The famous health resorts of Gulmarg, Sonamarg in north and Pahalgam in south also received snowfall.

The snowfall has brought cheer to agriculturists and horticulturists for whom it has raised the prospect of better harvest later this year.  .

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The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for the second day on Saturday even as fresh snowfall across Kashmir prompted authorities to issue an avalanche warning in higher reaches of the Valley.

"The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is closed for vehicular traffic due to continuous snowfall on either side of Jawahar tunnel in south Kashmir," a spokesman of the traffic department said.

He said snowfall was hampering efforts of Border Roads Organisation and other concerned agencies to clear the road of the snow accumulated overnight.

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The 294-km arterial highway, the only all-weather road link between Kashmir and rest of the country, was closed yesterday due to snowfall.

The snowfall in the Valley has affected normal life as electricity supply has been snapped while many roads in the rural areas have been blocked due to snow.

Roads in Srinagar, which received the second major snowfall of the winter on Saturday morning, were rendered slipperyand traffic was moving at a snail's pace in most areas.

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According to a MET department official, Srinagar received snowfall and rains equivalent to 30.1 mm rainfall since Friday while Qazigund -- the gateway town to the Valley -- received 42.2mm.

Pahalgam in south Kashmir received snowfall equivalent to 46.6 mm of rainfall followed by Kupwara (44.0mm), Kokernag (40.6 mm) and Gulmarg skiing resort (35.0 mm) in north Kashmir.

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The snowfall has resulted in the mercury staying around freezing point in most parts of the Valley but Gulmarg continued to shiver at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.

While Kargil was the coldest recorded place in the state at minus 11.0 degrees Celsius, Leh town saw the mercury rise to minus 5.0 degrees Celsius. 

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Tourists walk past snow-covered trees in Gulmarg

Mountains on a Kashmir highway are covered in snow.

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