Under-construction house damaged due to snowfall in Bandipora’s Tulail
Under-construction house damaged due to snowfall in Bandipora’s Tulail
Fresh snowfall affected road and air traffic, snapping Kashmir valley's connection with the rest of the country on Monday, and disrupted normal life in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, too, with a number of highways and states roads shut and power supply to several areas interrupted. Avalanche warnings were issued in 10 districts of J&K and in some areas of Himachal.

As many as 68 flights to and from Srinagar were cancelled and the Srinagar-Jammu national highway was closed following heavy snowfall in Kashmir and the upper reaches of Jammu on Monday morning. The NH was shut due to shooting stones and mudslides at several places between Chanderkot and Banihal.

In Himachal, 496 roads were closed due to heavy snow, with the Manali-Keylong road completely blocked. Daily life was thrown out of gear in Shimla, Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnur districts where 180, 158 and 73 roads, respectively, were blocked, while 908 power transformers and water supply were also affected.



In Uttarakhand, vehicle movement on Gangotri and Yamunotri national highways was disrupted after snow accumulated on the road, although some parts of the two NHs were cleared by the evening, according to officials. At least 10 link roads were blocked, too. Power supply to over a dozen villages was hit.


The south portal of Atal tunnel in Himachal received 90 cm of fresh snowfall, the highest in the state, followed by Solang valley, which received over 70 cm.


In Kashmir, Gulmarg received 30.5 cm of snowfall, Pahalgam 22.1 cm, Qazigund 13 cm; and Srinagar 12.5 cm.

The J&K Disaster Management Authority warned of "high danger level" avalanches in Doda, Kishtwar and Poonch districts; "medium danger level" in Bandipora, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam and Ramban districts; and "low danger level" avalanches in Anantnag district.

In Himachal, the Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment issued a warning of avalanche along Manali-Leh axis, Dhundi and Beas Kund area and a "partial unsafe" warning for the Bajnjar-Jalori-Khanag area in Kullu district.