Shopian: The administration cleared all roads in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Shopian, Mushtaq Ahmad Simnani told Greater Kashmir that snow had been removed from all the roads and link roads in the district.
“All the roads in the district are motorable now,” he said.
Simnani said that the Mughal Road had been officially closed for vehicular traffic.
It began snowing late Tuesday night in the area and by Wednesday morning, a thick white blanket of snow had carpeted the entire area, clogging several roads and streets in the area.
Executive Officer Municipal Council Shopian (MCS) Suhail Malik said that they formed 17 teams, with each team comprising seven workers and a supervisor, and deployed them at different locations in the town.
The team members were kept ready with shovels to clear the snow from the lanes and by-lanes of the town, besides helping people with medical or other emergencies.
“We readied them to clear those narrow lanes which could not be cleared by machines,” said Malik.
He said that the MCS had also called additional snow clearing machines and issued tenders for clearing the lanes manually as the area was known for heavy snowfall.
The low-lying areas of the district received 5 to 6 inches of snow, while the upper reaches like Sedow, Heerpora, and Kellar received 10 to 14 inches of snow.
The high-altitude Peer Ki Gali along the Mughal Road received 2 to 2.5 feet of snow.
The continuous snowfall resulted in slippery road conditions, which made the vehicular movement in and around the town difficult.
However, the MCS workers could be seen helping motorists by pushing their stuck cars on the roads.
“The teams are instructed to also help the commuters, whose vehicles could not move due to slippery roads,” Malik said.
He said that they had also made enough arrangements for lifting and transporting the snow from the narrow streets.
The district administration is presently equipped with four snowplows, five snowcats, and one snow cutter.
An R&B official said that there was an immediate need to upgrade the snow-clearing machinery. The district has 137 roads with a road length of 587 km.