Fresh spell of snowfall in Trikuta hills and higher reaches of Jammu region has brought smiles on the faces of pilgrims/tourists reaching Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine to pay obeisance inside the holy cave shrine. After snowfall the Shrine Board authorities opened the old cave to allow pilgrims to crawl through before the darshan inside the sanctum sanctorum.
The Shrine board authorities have also issued advisory to the pilgrims to take all preventive measures during the 13-km long trek in view of the inclement weather conditions. The helicopter services ferrying pilgrims from Katra however remained disrupted due to poor visibility and continuous rainfall. "Adequate heating arrangements have been made at several places to ensure well being of pilgrims along the route", Shrine Board officials claimed.
Meanwhile, heavy spell of snowfall in hilly districts of Doda and Bhaderwah have also ended the long dry spell and provided the opportunity to the local residents to enjoy the winter chill. The Bhaderwah valley wrapped in white blanket is already attracting large number of visitors from nearby areas. The tourist resorts of Patnitop and Nathatop too witnessed 2-3 feet of snow along the Jammu Srinagar National Highway during the early part of the day.
The vehicular traffic on the 300 km long National Highway also remained disrupted due to heavy accumulation of snow across the Jawahar tunnel for the second consecutive day. Road links in hilly districts of Doda and Kishtwar were also snapped at several places due to mudslides and snow. The communication lines and power supply was also affected in areas.