Valley is swept up by a fresh snowstorm. True to the forecast by weather department, snow silently fell through Saturday night,pleasantly surprising people with a flawless white morning. Unlike previous snowfall, when Valley plunged into a prolonged electrical failure the time first flakes fell, this time the power supply held through early Sunday hours, in some places continuing through the better the day and into the evening. The apparent damage to the
powerlines  at the time of the halt in snowing does not look severe enough to cause another extended blackout.  And one also expects that unlike the last time, Power Development Department will be better prepared to deal with the  situation. The utility was the target of public vitriol, both on street and online for its inability to immediately restore electricity after Valley was snowed in last time.
There was a widespread belief that the company did not plan ahead for a snowstorm that came at the right time in season and was also well
forecast. However, it was Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s personal
supervision of the restoration work and his decision to stay back in
Valley and tour far-flung areas to check the delivery of essential services that helped dispel the public anger against his government.
But ever since CM’s example has hardly been followed by his cabinet
colleagues and the other law-makers who have escaped to warmer climes
as Valley reels under a record dive in mercury, with the coldest Srinagar night recording a temperature of minus 7.8 degrees. However,
as is natural after every light or heavy snowfall, Srinagar-Jammu national highway is closed to traffic leading to scarcity of many an essential commodity in the Valley – most of it, however, artificial in nature. It is shocking how a two to three day road closure is sufficient to create a humanitarian problem in the state. Internally,however, the snow plows did a good job of road clearance facilitating an early resumption of traffic. A good performance this time round will be a major boost for the government. It will help erase the memory of the bitter experience early this  month.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST