Heavy Snowfall Disrupts Kashmir: Srinagar Airport Shuts, Jammu-Srinagar Highway Closed

Srinagar/Jammu: The dreamy, snow-clad Valley landscape was marred by severe disruption of traffic and air services on Tuesday with the closure of Jammu-Srinagar highway and cancellation of all flights at Srinagar airport in the wake of heavy snowfall in the region, interrupting emergency services and movement of armed forces, while rescue and road clearing operations raged on.

At Srinagar airport, all 58 scheduled flights, including 29 arrivals and 29 departures, were cancelled — leaving hundreds of tourists stranded. Authorities said continuous snowfall rendered the runway unsafe for operations.

While the Valley, including Srinagar, recorded light to moderate snow, the higher reaches received heavy snowfall, with tourist resorts such as Sonamarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam transformed into winter wonderlands.

The Srinagar-Jammu national highway was closed for traffic in view of the accumulation of snow between Qazigund and Banihal stretch, officials said, adding that no traffic is being allowed to ply on the highway even as snow clearance operations were being undertaken.

Train services were also affected, with a few trains between Banihal and Budgam getting cancelled earlier in the day. However, officials said operations resumed in a few hours once the tracks were cleared.

District administrations and the police have set up control rooms and helpline numbers to assist the public. In snowbound areas where roads remained blocked, police personnel were seen carrying patients on stretchers to ensure they reached medical facilities.

The MeT office has predicted light to moderate rain or snow across most places, with the possibility of thunder or gusty winds in some areas. Light precipitation is also expected on Wednesday.

The Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Disaster Management Authority (JKUTDMA) has issued avalanche warnings for eleven districts including Ganderbal, Anantnag, Bandipora, Baramula, Kulgam, and Kupwara in Kashmir, and Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, and Ramban in Jammu region. The warnings remained effective till Tuesday evening.

However, sense of duty triumphed over treacherous weather as a doctor in Shopian, braving the waist-deep snow, reached a hospital atop an excavator to attend his patients.

Dr Basharat Pandit — a resident of south Kashmir’s Pulwama — a gynaecologist posted at the Shopian district hospital set out from home at 7.30 on Tuesday to cover the nearly 55-km journey to work.

When his car was encumbered in snow, he first walked nearly 3 km before hopping onto an excavator in a desperate bid to reach the hospital.

“It was a sense of responsibility and duty… It was the sense of duty towards my patients, especially the pregnant women, who could otherwise have faced problems,” he said.

The doctor said his department performed 10 surgeries during the day, and all the patients were stable.

In Doda district, 60 persons, including 40 soldiers of a Rashtriya Rifles unit, were rescued by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) after they were stranded in a snowbound area, a defence spokesperson said.

The BRO successfully carried out the high-altitude rescue and road restoration operation under Project Sampark at Chatergala Pass situated at an altitude of 10,500 ft in the Bhaderwah-Chatergala axis, he said in a statement.

He said the 118 Road Construction Company (RCC) of 35 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) began the operation on January 24, a day after heavy snowfall which lasted for nearly 40 hours, clearing approximately 38 km of road covered under five to six feet of snow.

The route was opened by January 25 evening, enabling safe evacuation of 20 stranded civilians and 40 personnel of the 4 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), along with weapons and stores, the spokesman said.

The rescue mission was completed by early hours of January 26 with zero casualties, amid the challenging high-altitude terrain and extreme weather conditions, the statement said.

The operation was executed in close coordination with the Army, ensuring swift relief and the restoration of critical communication links in the region.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said the BRO also restored connectivity of strategic roads in the Kandi-Kotranka area of Rajouri district.

Following a spell of heavy snowfall in the Rajouri-Kandi-Budhal area on Tuesday, the BRO undertook sustained snow clearance operations to restore vital road connectivity in the region.

The snow cover, measuring up to three feet, had disrupted movement along a critical road stretch in the Pir Panjal region, cutting off the Kandi-Kotranka sub division from Rajouri town, the spokesman said, adding that the intense snowfall had disrupted military and civilian movement, including medical emergency services.

Despite the high operational risks, he said BRO personnel of the 110 RCC of 31 BRTF carried out sustained day and night operations, deploying specialised snow clearance equipment and manpower.

Clearance and widening operations continued relentlessly, and the road was further widened to facilitate safer and smoother movement. A total stretch of approximately 35 km was cleared and restored within 24 hours, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Army carried out rescue operations at multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district to evacuate stranded vehicles in the wake of heavy snowfall in the region.

The 46 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) carried out rescue operations at multiple places in old and uptown areas of the north Kashmir district, helping vehicles stranded on snowbound roads, an official said.

He said the timely intervention by Army personnel ensured safe movement of commuters and prevented further inconvenience amid the inclement weather conditions.

Several vehicles were successfully evacuated from slippery and blocked road stretches, he said. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)