Tragic road accidents occurred in Kashmir Valley and flights to and from Srinagar International Airport were cancelled for the third consecutive day on Tuesday due to foggy weather and poor visibility.
The Meteorological Department has predicted precipitation in plains and mountainous areas, which may end the foggy conditions on Thursday.
President of ruling People’s Democratic Party and MP Mehbooba Mufti demanded installation of Instrumentation landing System (IlS) at the Airport and announced to take up the issue with the Defence and Civil Aviation Ministers at the Centre.
Sources said all flight operations at the Srinagar airport failed to resume on Wednesday. The International Airport does not have facility for overnight stay of the aircraft and all flights arriving from various locations depart before the evening. “Due to foggy conditions, no flight could land at Srinagar airport. Therefore, no passenger was able to move out of Valley”, an official on the airport said.
Hundreds of passengers, including tourists have been stranded, the official said. The dense fog caused road accidents around the Valley and most people chose to remain off the roads in mornings. In a terrible accident on Srinagar-Muzaff-arabad Road on Monday two passengers died. In a similar accident on Tral-Awantipora road, three passengers travelling in a sedan were critically wounded.
The Meteorological Department officials predicted chances of respite from foggy conditions in the Valley from on Thursday. “There are chances of precipitation. It can improve visibility,” Sonam lotus,
Director of Meteorological Department said.
Expressing dismay over the frequent flight disruptions at the Srinagar Airport, PDP President and Member Parliament, Mehbooba Mufti demanded immediate installation of advanced Instrumentation landing System (IlS) at the aerodrome to ensure flight operations even during minimum visibility.
“Despite having been declared an International Airport almost a decade back, the technical facilities at Srinagar aerodrome continue to be outdated impeding the air traffic to and from Kashmir especially during the winters,” Mehbooba said in a statement.
She said as the traffic movement on Srinagar-Jammu highway and Mughal Road, connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remains affected during bad weather conditions, the air traffic is the only mode available to the people to travel in and out of Kashmir. “However, for the past few years we are witnessing frequent flight disruptions at the Srinagar Airport due to poor visibility although more than 30 flights are normally operating daily from there,” she said and added that in view of the heavy air traffic on the Srinagar Airport, the technical facilities including IlS needs to be upgraded immediately at the aerodrome to avoid any inconvenience to the passengers.