Heavy rain triggers massive landslide near Ban Toll Plaza; no injuries reported
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Authorities suspended traffic till further order on Jammu-Srinagar NHW-44 in view of inclement weather conditions followed by landslides, shooting stones and snowfall.
It is raining heavily on whole stretch of NH44 with snowfall in Banihal. Shooting stones are reported at many places from Udhampur to Banihal. The road is littered with boulders. Traffic is completely suspended, said SSP Traffic NHW-44 Ramban Shabir Ahmed, adding “Decision about Kishtwar will be taken tomorrow.”
Avalanche alert issued in Kashmir, heavy snowfall predicted
Meanwhile, heavy rains triggered a massive landslide on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Friday. The incident happened near Ban Toll Plaza at around 4:10 pm. However, no injuries were reported as the authorities already closed the road. In the CCTV footage released on Friday, a large chunk of rock was recorded hitting the ground within 10 seconds.
Meanwhile, Weather conditions in Kashmir continued to improve even as minimum temperature in most places of they valley stayed close to the freezing point, officials said here on Friday.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees Celsius, up from 0.3 degrees Celsius on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, officials said.
Gulmarg, the famous skiing resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s 3.5 degrees Celsius.
The officials said Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, slightly up from minus 0.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.
They said Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, recorded a minimum temperature of 0.4 degrees Celsius, while the nearby south Kashmir town of Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.2 degrees Celsius.
The mercury at Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of 0.8 degrees Celsius.
The MeT office has forecast snow/rain of moderate to heavy intensity till January 8. Heavy snow is expected in some places, it said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of the 40-day harshest winter period known as ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ which began on December 21.
It is a period when cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably, leading to the freezing of water bodies and water supply lines.
Chances of snowfall are the highest during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy to very heavy snowfall.
The ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ will end on January 31, but the cold wave will continue with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).
Meanwhile, most places in Kashmir on Friday witnessed moderate to heavy snowfall as authorities issued an alert for avalanche-prone areas of it, officials said.
An official of the MET department said moderate snowfall was reported from most areas in south and central Kashmir.
“The intensity of the snowfall is going to be heavy tonight and tomorrow. The weather is likely to improve from Sunday,” the official said.
The snowfall, which began late in the afternoon, forced cancellation of several flights to Srinagar airport, they said.
Of the 37 scheduled flights, 23 had operated till the snowfall began, they said.
The authorities have issued an avalanche alert for snowbound hilly areas of Kashmir.
People living in the mountain districts of the valley and in Chenab region have been advised not to venture out unnecessarily, the official added.