Rain, snow force Kashmir mountain passes to close down
Nov 19, 2006 - 7:57:42 PM
, Reviewed by: Priya Saxena
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'I have paid a huge amount for the outdoor arrangements like the marriage tent, but now all that has gone waste. The tents, though claimed to be waterproof, are already leaking. It is also so cold inside that no guest can eat food there,' said Abdul Gani Mir, a resident of Saidpora village on the outskirts of Srinagar city whose son is getting married Sunday.
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By Indo Asian News Service,
[RxPG] Srinagar, Nov 19 (IANS) Heavy rains and snow lashing parts of Jammu and Kashmir for the past three days have forced all the mountain passes to close down, leaving several vehicles stranded and cutting off Ladakh from the rest of the state.
Rain lashed the lower portions of Kashmir for the third consecutive day Saturday while snowfall hit the upper reaches of the state. All the mountain passes were closed, leaving the cold desert Ladakh region, Gurez and Tangdhar areas cut off from the mainland.
'Moderate snowfall has closed the Zojilla Pass leading to the Ladakh region. Many vehicles are still stranded on the highway and efforts are on to clear them. However, no passengers are stranded anywhere', said a senior official here.
The Ladakh region remains cut off from the rest of the state for nearly six months a year and air traffic is the only means of transport available to the locals during this period.
The far off areas of Gurez, Jawdoora and Telial have also been cut off due to the snowfall at the Rajdhani Pass that connects these areas with the Kashmir Valley.
Similarly, the road to the border tehsil of Tangdhar has also been blocked by snowfall.
The tourist resort of Gulmarg is covered with a thin blanket of snow, which has got the tourists there very thrilled at the sight of snow. Some are seeing snow for the first time in their life.
'I am seeing snowfall for the first time in my life. I have so far seen snow falling only in the movies. It is a great feeling to be so close to nature', said Amit Kumar, 24, a resident of Bhopal.
Though the night temperature here is still around 5 degrees Celsius, which is not what the locals regard as the real winter cold, the difference between the day and night temperatures has narrowed, giving the feeling of bitter cold.
'The minimum temperature was 5.2 degrees yesterday while the maximum was just 8.4. This is a pretty narrow range', said a weather official.
Early winter cold has especially been bothering thousands of secondary school students in the Valley whose annual examinations are going on.
'There is no heating arrangement inside the exam halls and we literally shiver during the exams', said Anum Bashir, a student appearing for her secondary school exams here.
The rains and snow have come as a big dampener for many locals, who had scheduled family marriage functions in November due to the holy fasting month of Ramadan in September-October this year.
'I have paid a huge amount for the outdoor arrangements like the marriage tent, but now all that has gone waste. The tents, though claimed to be waterproof, are already leaking. It is also so cold inside that no guest can eat food there,' said Abdul Gani Mir, a resident of Saidpora village on the outskirts of Srinagar city whose son is getting married Sunday.
'I have now shifted the marriage party to the rooms provided by the neighbours in the village,' he said.
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