Kashmir receives season's heaviest snowfall

Kashmir witnessed season's heaviest snowfall as the arterial Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for the second consecutive day on Monday.

Srinagar city, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded snowfall of 18 cm, equivalent to 53.8 mm rainfall since on Sunday, a MeT department spokesman said.

Gulmarg skiing resort in north Kashmir Baramulla district recorded one feet of snow while Kokernag in south Kashmir received 1.6 feet of snowfall during the corresponding period, the spokesman said. He said Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for annual Amarnath Yatra, in Anantnag district recorded nearly eight inches of snow.

The snowfall has resulted in fresh cold wave as the night temperature dipped by two degrees in Srinagar to settle at minus 0.3 degree Celsius. Gulmarg was the coldest place in Kashmir division as the Mercury settled at minus 7 degrees Celsius while Kargil in Ladakh region recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius.

The downpour has resulted in fresh landslides at several places along the 300-km Jammu-Srinagar national Highway, the only all weather road link between Kashmir and rest of the country, a traffic department spokesman said. "Vehicular traffic on the Highway remains suspended for the second day now. As soon as the landslides are cleared, the road will be thrown open for traffic," he said.