Normal life was disrupted in Kashmir on Thursday after rains and fresh snowfall continued intermittently virtually cutting of the Valley from rest of India due to closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway for second consecutive day.The MeT Office has forecast widespread rains till Friday evening. Official sources told KNT due to landslides at Patnitop, Ramban and fresh snowfall, Srinagar-Jammu highway was closed for traffic. Reports said that scores of vehicles were stranded on the highway.While the traffic from Srinagar was stopped at Qazigund, the traffic from Jammu towards Srinagar was stopped at Nagrota, the official said adding that snowfall was hampering the efforts to reopen the highway for traffic.Many areas in Kashmir, especially in the higher reaches, experienced fresh snowfall overnight, with the plains of the Valley, including the summer capital here, witnessed rianfall, an official of the Meteorological Department said.The higher reaches in the Valley including Keran, Machil, Karnah, Gurez, Shopian, Sonamarg and Amarnath cave along with surrounding areas experienced continuous moderate to heavy snowfall, an official said.Reports said that many areas at higher reaches of Kupwara got cut off from the district due to fresh heavy snowfall.
The city here registered the minimum temperature of 7.1 degree Celsius slightly up from 6.4 degree Celsius yesterday, the official said. Eyewitnesses sad that almost all the North, South and Central Kashmir district witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall while at some places snowfall also occured. Moderate to heavy rainfall was recorded in Ganderbal, Kangan, Sonamarg, Gund, Bandipora, Budgam, Pulwama, Shopian, and Anantnag. During the last 24 hours, there has been snowfall in Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, and peripheral areas including Khilanmarg, Kongdoori and Afferwath.Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, received four cm of snow and rainfall during the last 24 hours, the official said.The twin tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam were the only two places in Kashmir Valley where the night temperatures settled below the freezing point.Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded two cm snow, while the night temperature there settled at a low of 0.3 degree Celsius.Kokernag town in south Kashmir registered a minimum of 0.3 degree Celsius and recorded rains and snow equivalent to 2.2 mm, the official said. Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, recorded 3.1 mm of rainfall and snow and the night temperature there settled at a low of 0. 6 degree Celsius.The MeT Office has forecast widespread rains on Friday and has said that weather may improve from Friday evening. (CNS)