Snow clearing operation underway in Gulmarg.
Highlights
- J&K administration puts every dare effort for snow clearing operations
- Snow clearing operations captures breathtaking beauty in Gulmarg and Kulgam
- Gulmarg, the famous skiing resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius
As snowfall continues to take place during the chilla-i-Kallan period in the upper regions in Jammu and Kashmir, several districts including Kulgam, Gulmarg have been completely covered in snow.
Many roads have also been blocked due to abundant snowfall, hitting normal life in the valley. In Himachal Pradesh also, over 400 roads have been closed.
However, the administration in Kulgam is putting every dare effort to clear the pathway from snow, and the process involved in it is bringing us beautiful scenes from atop hills.
The snow-clearing operation underway at Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir has captured breathtaking beauty. Take a look.
Due to heavy snowfall, all scheduled flights were cancelled on Saturday after reduced visibility at the airport, snapping air link between Kashmir and rest of the country, officials said.
The snowfall, which started late in the afternoon on Friday, continued through the day at most places in the Kashmir valley, they said.
"All the 40 flights scheduled to operate at the Srinagar airport had to be cancelled due to snowfall," an official of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) said. He said that snowfall had reduced visibility to less than 600 metres at the airport.
Problems related to low visibility will be addressed soon as an upgraded instrument landing system (ILS) will be installed at the airport by November this year, the official said.
The official advised passengers to reschedule their flights, which, he said, will be done by airlines free of cost.
"The passengers are entitled to full refund if they decide to cancel their journey," he said.
The air traffic to and from Kashmir has been badly affected over the past few days with a large number or flights getting cancelled due to poor visibility. Srinagar recorded the minimum temperature of 0.2 degrees Celsius last night, the officials said.
They said Gulmarg, the famous skiing resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 0.2 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, recorded the minimum of zero degrees Celsius, while the nearby south Kashmir town of Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius, the officials said. The mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of zero degrees Celsius.
The meteorological office has said significant improvement in weather is likely from Sunday morning, after which it is likely to stay mainly dry over the next few days.
The Kashmir valley is currently under the grip of the 40-day harshest winter period known as 'Chilla-i-Kalan' which began on December 21.
'Chilla-i-Kalan' is a period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.
The 'Chilla-i-Kalan' will end on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).
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