The meteorological department Thursday predicted another spell of rain and snow across Kashmir for four days starting November 12, even as the state administration asserted that it was “ready to tackle the resultant situation.”
“There are likely chances of rain and snowfall across Kashmir from November 12 to November 15,” a meteorological department official said, adding that the intensity and magnitude of rains and snowfall will be less as compared to the previous spell on November 3 that wreaked havoc on orchards in southern Kashmir, apart from causing a near-total breakdown of power supply in the Valley.
“After November 15, there is a forecast of dry weather for few days,” the official said.
The past Saturday’s snowfall also led to closure of highways and disrupted the air traffic as well. It also damaged four transmission towers at Lissar, Kulgam, Shopian and Wanpoh, leaving southern districts without electricity for days together.
Divisional commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan Thursday said the government is “ready to deal with the situation.”
“We have established control rooms and put the men and machinery on standby,” he told Greater Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department officials said the partial cloud cover marginally improved minimum temperatures across Kashmir. The Ladakh region however continued to reel under “first cold wave” of the season, they said.
“The cold wave conditions are likely to continue for next three days,” the official said.
In the summer capital Srinagar, the minimum temperature improved to minus 0.4 degrees Celsius against Wednesday’s minus 2.2 degrees Celsius, while tourist resort of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and ski-resort of Gulmarg in Baramulla district recorded minimum of minus 3.4 and minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Kargil town in Ladakh was the coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir at minus 8.6 degrees Celsius, followed by Leh at minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature was 11.5 degrees Celsius in Jammu city, 1.2 degrees Celsius in Katra, 3.2 degrees Celsius in Banihal, 7.1 degrees Celsius in Batote and 3.8 degrees Celsius in Bhaderwah, according to officials.
ONE-WAY TRAFFIC TO CONTINUE
Meanwhile, one-way traffic continued to ply Thursday on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only surface link of Kashmir with rest of the world.
According to a traffic police official, in order to avoid traffic jams and accidents on the Srinagar-Jammu highway due to frequent landslides and shooting stones—as well as road widening at several places—only one-way traffic will continue “till further orders.”
Traffic would ply from Jammu to Srinagar on Friday and no vehicle will be allowed from the opposite direction, he said.
SRINAGAR-KARGIL HIGHWAY SHUT
The Srinagar-Kargil highway remained closed for eighth consecutive day Thursday.
A Beacon official told Greater Kashmir that the snow clearance work is going on and is likely to be completed by Friday.
According to reports, hundreds of trucks and other vehicles are stranded on both sides of the highway that was closed last week following heavy snowfall in Kashmir.
Superintendent of police (traffic-rural) Muzafar Ahmad Shah said the snow clearance work is going on and hopefully the highway will be through in a day or two.
With inputs from Irfan Raina