Heavy snowfall throws life out of gear in J-K, traffic, power take a hit, apple cultivation affected
Traffic operations took a massive toll on Monday following the fresh snowfall in the Valley.
The Kashmir Valley welcomed the month of November with fresh snowfall in many areas. The record-breaking snowfall has thrown life out of gear in Kashmir and other parts of the region causing massive power outages, traffic disruptions and even causing widespread damage to apple cultivation and other crops in the Valley.
Most part of Kashmir remained powerless since Saturday snowfall has also led to cancellation of several flights from Srinagar Airport. Airport officials announced a list of the cancelled flights and diverted flights to Jammu Airport on their official Twitter handle.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was opened for one-way traffic this afternoon, a day after it was closed due to heavy snowfall and landslides, officials said.
A nine-year-old girl was killed and three members of a nomadic family were injured when a landslide struck their tent in Rajouri District, a police official said.
A Bakarwal family had set up a ‘Dera’ (tent accommodation) at Chatyar village near a shrine which came under a landslide triggered by incessant rains at around 11.30 PM on Saturday, he said.
Shabina Kousar died on the spot, while three members of her family were critically injured and were taken to a hospital.
Meanwhile, after an unprecedented Valley-wide breakdown electricity supply was restored in 90 per cent areas of Srinagar and in nearly 70 per cent rural areas.
Hashmat Qazi, the Chief Engineer (Electric Maintenance) of Kashmir, said electricity supply would be restored everywhere within hours.
"Due to transmission failures, our supply was on Saturday cut down to just 80MW. On Sunday we are supplying around 1,000MW. We are facing problems in south Kashmir areas where some of our transmission towers have been damaged. This will take a day or two for complete restoration."
The Valley was plunged into darkness on Saturday following the heavy snowfall, affecting even Srinagar's hospitals.
Traffic operations took a massive toll on Monday following the fresh snowfall in the Valley. Earlier in the day, a massive landslide blocked the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the Ramban district. The highway was cleared for one-way traffic on Sunday, a day after being closed due to heavy snowfall along the Jawahar Tunnel-Qazigund stretch and landslides at multiple places between Ramban and Banihal sector.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Anita Sharma said a landslide struck the highway near Battery Cheshma along the Banihal-Ramban stretch, blocking the 270-km arterial road.
"The restoration work is going on and might take several hours given the nature of the landslide," she told PTI.
Over 700 stranded passengers coming from Srinagar to Jammu were rescued in a night-long operation from the avalanche prone area of Jawahar tunnel and Verinag on Saturday and brought safely to Banihal before they were allowed to move towards their destination after road clearance.
The traffic on the highway was allowed from Jammu to Srinagar on Monday morning, while restricted traffic was allowed from Srinagar to Jammu to enable government employees working in the Civil Secretariat and other 'Darbar Move' offices to join their duties in Jammu.
The Civil Secretariat reopened on Monday after a 10-day break owing to the bi-annual 'Darbar Move', which was started by the then Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape the extreme heat during summers in Jammu and biting cold of winters in Srinagar.
A large number of 'Darbar Move' employees failed to reach Jammu due to inclement weather owing to unprecedented snowfall which forced cancellation of majority of the incoming and outgoing flights at Srinagar airport besides disrupting traffic on the highway.
Following the fresh landslide, the SSP said the traffic was stopped at Qazigund in Kashmir and Udhampur in Jammu and once the road is made traffic worthy, vehicles will be allowed accordingly.
Apple cultivation in the state also suffered massive damage following the snowfall. A large number of fruit-laden apple trees in Kashmir have either been uprooted or their stems have broken due to heavy snowfall on Saturday, an horticulture department official said.
The worst affected orchards are in Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Bandipora and parts of Baramulla districts, the official said.
"Some apple varieties which are plucked late in autumn were still on the trees. The exact losses can be determined only after a detailed survey but as per conservative estimates fruit worth several crores have been lost due to the snow," he added.
Orchardists are demanding the government to set up teams for assessment of losses and compensation be provided to them. "There has been lot of damage to apple orchards, especially in south Kashmir area. The government should immediately order loss assessment and compensation," said Shakeel Ahmad, an orchardist from Pulwama.
The Bandipora district administration has already fanned out teams from the revenue department to assess losses to orchards and private property due to the snowfall.
"The revenue teams are inspecting losses at orchards and private property since early morning (Sunday) for prompt compensation and assistance," Deputy Commissioner Bandipora Shahid Choudhary said.
Lauding the Bandipora administration, National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah said other districts should follow the Bandipora administration's lead.
"Other districts need to immediately deploy teams of revenue staff to assess the damage so that compensation can be disbursed," Omar said.
Expressing sorrow over the farming losses, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti asked the state administration to assess the quantum of damage suffered by the horticulture industry which was in peak harvest season.
She also appealed to the central government to consider a package for the fruit growers whose produce had been lost due to the extreme weather conditions.
PDP MLAs Haseeb Drabu and Aijaz Ahmad Mir, who represent major apple growing assembly constituencies in Pulwama and Shopian districts respectively, called for attention towards the plight of farmers.
"An early snowfall in the valley has disrupted city life which is being talked about. No one seems to have noticed the extensive damage to the apple crop and fruit bearing trees resulting in income loss. State government must estimate and compensate the loss (sic)," Drabu said in microblogging site Twitter.
"Apple orchards and the harvest have suffered tremendous losses in Shopian district due to heavy snowfall before natural defoliation of trees. I urge Governor Satya Pal Malik to intervene and direct the administration to swiftly assess the damage and compensate the losses," Mir said.