Life remained crippled in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and Kulgam district for the fourth straight day on Wednesday. Although the snowfall stopped on Wednesday morning, heavy disruptions in utility services and road connectivity continued in both the districts. Nearly two dozen families evacuated from two villages of Kulgam district were moved to safer places after authorities issued an avalanche warning.
Residents of Anantnag district complained that the authorities had miserably failed to clear the snow-clogged roads in the area. They said that most of the intra-district roads were still buried under the snow.
“The patients are the worst sufferers. They are being shifted to hospitals on trolleys and cots”, said Javed Ahmad, a local resident. He said although some thoroughfares in the town were cleared, a second vehicle could hardly pass on them.
Many residents from the area said that owing to heavy disruption in electricity for the past four days, their cell phones and inverters were running out of battery.
Local residents from dozens of villages including Marahama, Waghama, Dadoo Marhama, Shaligam, Takibal, Kokernag, Dooru and Wopzan villages told the Greater Kashmir that the utility services in these areas were yet to be restored.
“Our village has been reeling under darkness for the last four days while the roads lay buried under the snow,” said a local resident of Dadoo Marhama.
Ghulam Qadir, a local resident of Waghama said that the village was without water supply.
In neighbouring Kulgam district’s Kund and Waltengoo area, the authorities shifted at least 22 families to safer place following an avalanche warning. In 2005, the village was flattened after a monstrous avalanche hit the village.
Many residents from the districts also complained about the disruptions in utility services and road connectivity
“The roads have not been cleared here. We are also facing acute shortage of water” , complained a group of residents from DK Pora.
They said that area has received around 5 feet deep snowfall.
Pulwama:
Although the authorities remained busy in restoring electricity and clearing snow from roads in Pulwama, the people in the district continued to suffer.
The authorities claim that snow was cleared from all vital roads however the snow could not be lifted from most of the roads till late evening on Wednesday.
According to locals of Rahmoo, snow was not lifted from the vital and important Rahmoo-Pulwama road till evening.
The roads including Ichgoze Ahama, Sangarwani Abhama, Ichgoze Keller also remained disconnected as snow was not lifted till evening.
According to reports, a patient identified as Haleema, resident of Dadoora was taken on a makeshift stretcher to Muran, two kilometres away from the village as the snow was not lifted from the road.
Locals said that the patient was taken on a stretcher to Muran where she was taken to hospital in a private car.
However later the snow was lifted from the road, reports said.
In Tral area, dozens of areas remained disconnected with the sub district headquarter. These roads include Laam, Panzoo, Zadikhud, Bagandar, Zarihad, Paner Jageer etc.
Residents of these areas said that snow was not lifted from dozens of other interior roads till evening causing immense problems to the residents.
Locals said that they were facing immense problems.
“People are suffering badly as they are unable to get essentials including medicines as the roads are blocked. Anything can happen and in absence of road connectivity, it could be disastrous,” Bashir Ahmad Dar, a local resident of Rahmoo area said.
In Narastan area of Tral, the residents voluntary cleared the snow from roads to make way for vehicles.
In Pinglish, the roof of the residential house of Gulam Nabi Nayak collapsed due to snow.
The electricity transformers of Gousiya colony, Ameerabad and New colony Laribal were damaged due to the snow.
However an official said that the machinery of civil and mechanical divisions of R&B has been put in place since yesterday but continuous snowfall created hurdles in the work.