Kashmir witnesses season's first snowfall

SRINAGAR: Higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed season's first snowfall Friday even as rains lashed large parts of the state breaking the three-month long dry spell.

The famous tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Sonamarg reported light to moderate snowfalls till Friday evening.

Mild snowfall was also reported from the area around the Jawahar Tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. This highway is the valley's only road link with the rest of the country.

Friday's rainfall has come as a big relief for the locals who had been witnessing one of the valley's worst ever water-crisis because of the extended dry spell.

"A moderate snowfall in the upper reaches and mild rain is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. After another three to four days we are expecting another western disturbance that could bring in more snow and rainfall," said NP Bhatnagar, the director of the local weather office here.

The minimum temperature Friday was minus 0.2 degrees Celsius as against minus 4.8 degrees on Wednesday.

After four days, domestic flights resumed operations from Srinagar airport while two Jeddah-bound flights carried Haj pilgrims from here.

It may be recalled that no Haj flight could be operated from Srinagar airport for the last two days as dense fog and bad weather made landing impossible.