The belated snowfall in Kashmir Valley brought merry as well as miseries to people as extended dry spell ended with moderate precipitation but simultaneously blocked highways, disrupted power supply affected free movement. The weather took a turn on the weekend but typical heavy snowfall, a hallmark of Kashmir's winter remained elusive. Moderate snowfall began on Monday with unusual long intervals, especially in the plains.
However, as people woke up on Tuesday morning, entire Valley was enveloped in a thick white blanket. The snowfall stopped in the afternoon. Weatherman has predicted improvement in atmosphere from Wednesday afternoon. Moderate to heavy snowfall will continue at isolated places until that time. The snowfall has brought cheer on the faces of common Kashmiris, particularly the farmers in the countryside, as elongated dry spell and sunny days during entire January month were not seen as good omen.
The Valley recorded lowest precipitation since 1988 during December and January. Interestingly, the harshest 40-day spell of winter known as Chillai Kalan between December 21 and January 31 ended without snowfall in plains. Even the snow layer did not thicken considerably at the upper reaches. The snowfall has covered every nook and corner of Kashmir Valley though the hill stations of Pahalgam, Sonamarg and Gulmarg received the maximum snowflakes. Tourists at Gulmarg, the prominent ski-resort in Asia were overjoyed to capture the moments in their cameras and cellphones. Three to five feet of snow has accumulated at these hill stations, much to the joy of skiiers.
Sources said that the minimum temperature was 0.6 degree Celsius in Srinagar, and 0.8 degree below zero in Pahalgam, 5.2 degrees Celsius below the freezing point in Gulmarg, minus 4.9 degrees in leh and minus 13.5 in Kargil. The snowfall generally raises the temperature by few notches unlike in the cloud-free nights, which are freezing and blow cold waves. The 300-kilometer Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained largely closed though the authorities allowed vehicles to ply one-way with strict advisories. The highway was closed for vehicular traffic on Sunday.
The snowfall disrupted vehicular traffic and hampered inter-district connectivity. Most people chose to remain indoors due to cold and absence of passenger vehicles. Authorities said that the men and machinery have been activated to restore normal life. Most of the areas, including parts of Srinagar, plunged into darkness as snowfall damaged electricity polls and wires.
"Power break-down, road blockades, damages to water supply lines, scarcity of ration, water logging and other difficulties faced by the people in Kashmir have become synonymous with the winter in Kashmir. This pathetic situation needs to be changed", newly-elected legislator and PDP leader Altaf Bukhari said in a statement demanding overhaul of the administration.