Moderate to heavy snowfall in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Saturday caused major disruptions in electricity supply while snow-accumulated roads gave a tough time to commuters as roads largely remained uncleared.
The snowfall which began in wee hours continued uninterrupted throughout the day with around 6-7 inches deep snow getting accumulated when the report was filed.
The situation was much worse in higher reaches which witnessed more snowfall with the already snowbound areas witnessing nearly two feet snow when the last reports came in.
With roads turning slippery amid continuous snowfall, the district administration had to circulate an advisory advising commuters to avoid unnecessary travel.
Though the administration said snow clearance machines were put out soon after the snowfall, the commuters complained of inconveniences due to uncleared roads at many places across the district.
Reports reaching the Greater Kashmir said apart from link roads snow wasn’t cleared on main roads connecting the district to Srinagar and Sopore.
“We were stuck for many hours on Sopore road,” commuter Sajid Ahmad said, adding, “No snow clearance is being carried out despite us being stuck on the road.”
Another local from the town outskirts, Mumtaz Ahmad said the inner links haven’t been cleared.
The complaints were received from the district’s main town too where the locals said the lanes and inner lanes which make the cobweb connecting it to the main road were also not cleared till late in the day when this report was filed.
The district administration earlier in the day said that a 4×4 vehicle has been put on standby for patients needing advanced treatment at tertiary hospitals.
The snowfall also snapped already erratic electric supply across the district after the 132kv transmission line developed some fault.
“The situation as of now is that the 132kv transmission line from Badampura which connects Patushahi grid station was down while we are on the job to look out for the reasons,” an official said. He informed the line was restored later in the day.
The electricity feeders also took a hit as the snowfall triggered faults. “Out of 43 total feeders, 7 feeders are down while the rest 37 are functional,” the official said.