Heavy snowfall in Valley

NH blocked, flights disrupted; SASE issues avalanche warning

A woman was killed and her seven family members were injured in house collapse at Rajouri while snow avalanche struck Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at Shaitani nallah damaging nine shops with traffic coming to grinding halt on the highway.

A woman was killed while seven members of her family had a narrow escape when a Kutcha house in which they were putting up collapsed due to heavy snowfall and rains in Gundi Khawas area of Rajouri district, this afternoon.

Official sources said that eight members of a family including three children were buried under the debris of a kutcha house, which caved in due to heavy snowfall and rains in Gundi Khawas area of Rajouri district, at 3 PM, today. All of them were sitting in the house when the roof collapsed with big band. Hearing sound, hundreds of villagers rushed to the spot and started rescue operation. Some of them informed Primary Health Center (PHC) Khawas and a team of Medical Assistants headed by Dr Atul Sharma along with necessary medicare kits rushed to the spot.

As soon as the victims were evacuated from the debris, the doctor and para-medical staff provided them treatment on the spot, thus saving their precious lives.

However, one woman identified as Kailash Devi, 25, wife of Mukhtiyar Singh died while her husband Mukhtiyar Singh, son of Sheetal Singh and brother-in-law Chain Singh, mother-in-law Guddo Devi, sister-in-law Kirna Devi and three children Sachin Singh, Bachan Singh and Samiksha all residents of Gundi Khawas were injured.

The injured were later shifted to PHC Khawas where condition of two injured Mukhtiyar Singh and Guddo Devi was said to be critical. The doctors were unable to refer them to District Hospital Rajouri as the area was cut off from the rest of the world due to snowfall.

Reports said that upper reaches of Rajouri and Poonch district experiences heavy snow with rains in plains since yesterday.

Jk News correspondent Banihal Khawaja Sharjeel said that seven shops and two hotels (dhabas) were washed away after a snow avalanche struck the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Shatani nallah area of Banihal, this evening. Three trucks passing-by had a narrow escape while no loss to life has been reported as the owners of all these establishments were already asked to vacate and move to safer areas. The stretch at which the avalanche struck at 4.05 PM is already ‘avalanche prone’ and the authorities have directed the people running shops there to shut down their establishments.

Official sources said that 110 meters long, 25 meters wide and 4 meters high snow avalanche struck at Shatani nallah and damaged all seven shops and 2 hotels. By the quick and prompt action of BECON and DySP Traffic BK Ganju, three trucks, which fled away from Tethar (Banihal) managed to cross the avalanche prone area prior to the incident. These trucks were brought to Nowgam (Banihal).

OC BECON Vohra told KTNS that their men will clear this avalanche with in two to three hours tomorrow morning in case of fair weather condition. In the radius of fifty meters there is threat of two more avalanches which can struck at Shatani Nallah, he added.

Meanwhile, 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has been closed due to snowfall on both sides of the Jawahar Tunnel. Almost two-and-a-half feet of snow has accumulated at Jawahar tunnel, one feet at Patnitop and one and half feet at Banihal.

Snow once again disrupted vehicular traffic on the highway from the wee hours at about 1 AM. Due to slippery road conditions, traffic authorities stopped the traffic. They decided to stop vehicular traffic at national highway 1-A at Ramban, Banihal and Qazigund as precautionary measures due to slippery conditions from Shatani nallah (Banihal) to Jawahar tunnel and from Varinag zig to Jawahar tunnel and danger of snow avalanche and shooting stones.It was snowing heavily at Jawahar Tunnel since last night.  As per traffic authorities, 450 vehicles were stranded from Jawahar tunnel to Batote with 24 vehicles including four trucks loaded with Chicken at Jawahar tunnel and 21 at Banihal.

Fifth spell of snow started at 9 PM at Banihal, Patnitop, Batote, Gool and Shangaldan areas. Due to continues snowing 1.6 inches snow accumulated at Banihal, 1 feet at Patnitop, 4 inches at Batote, 2.5 feet at Jawahar Tunnel and Gool, 5 feet at Mahoo, 4.5 feet at Mangit and 6 inches at Ramsu.

Meanwhile, passenger vehicles of Ramban, Doda and trucks were allowed to move towords Ramban and Doda from Kud at about 2:30 PM. No Srinagar based vehicles were allowed to move from Kud. BECON authorities today started removing snow at 6 AM on both sides from Varinag zig to Jawahar tunnel and from Jawahar tunnel to Nowgam, Banihal.

OC BECON Vohra told KTNS that the removal of snow at NH-1A started at 6 AM. “We have cleared snow from Jawahar Tunnel to Khooni nallah and from Jawahir Tunnel to Anantnag. But, due to continues snowfall more snow got accumulated. “If snowfall stopped we will clear national highway with in an hour. We have pressed into service five Bulldozers, two snow cutters, one snow flower and two tippers which are working from Jawahar tunnel to Khooni nallah for clearence of snow and land slides,” he added.

It was snowing at Jawahir tunnel and Banihal till last reports came in.

Jk Newscorrespondent DS AHMAD reported from Srinagar that Kashmir valley on Monday received a fresh snowfall. Met department reports said many areas in North and South Kashmir received light to moderate snowfall while rains lashed the plains across the valley since last evening.

The capital city Srinagar also received few inches of snow. The authorities issued the avalanche warning in many hilly areas of the valley and asked the people living in these areas to refrain from venturing out of their houses. While the hill resort Gulmarg 12 to 18 inches of snow the world famous tourist spot Pahalgam received 15 to 18 inches. DH Pora area of Kulgam district received 9 inches while Kulan received 7 inches of snow.

Kupwara, Kulgam, VailooYusmarg, Charasharief and received 4 to 5 inches of snow while 2 to 3 inches were recorded in Anantnag and Tral. Authorities said that snow clearance operation was started on war footing basis and most of the roads across the valley were restored for traffic.

Following the snowfall, SASE, the divisional disaster management authority issued a medium danger avalanche warning for higher reaches of Banihal, Gulmarg, Chowkibal Tangdar, Keran, Machil and Gurez areas.

“People living in these areas are being advised not to venture out in avalanche prone zones and take precaution,” said a press release issued by the coordinator, Disaster management cell, Amir Ali.

The authorities also closed the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway the only road link connecting valley with rest of the world putting at halt hundreds of heavy and light vehicles along the road at many places.

“The Beacon authorities are putting up their efforts to clear the road and once the road is cleared we will restore the traffic,” he said. Reports said that at least three hundred heavy vehicles including trucks and load carriers are stranded between the Qazigund.

Reports said that air traffic with the Valley, had got affected in the morning, but was restored in the afternoon and all flights operated, except the morning Go-Air flight which got cancelled. The Kargil Courier between Srinagar and Kargil got cancelled, due to bad weather.

Trucks and the taxis were stranded on the highway and hundreds of Kashmir-bound passengers are stranded at the General Bus Stand Jammu due to the blocked highway.

Met forecasts snow on Sunday

Cold wave to intensify further

With day temperature dipping further, Kashmir continues to freeze in what is seen as one of the harshest winters, presenting the people with lot of difficulties.The valley has been devoid of clear sun shine since the major snowfall on Saturday while the day temperatures have consistently stayed below zero.The maximum temperature recorded at 11 this morning was minus 1.4 degree Celsius, which increased only slightly to minus 0.4 degree Celsius by 2:30 PM. It is far less than the normal temperature of 5 degree Celsius at this time of the year.

The nights are even colder. The minimum temperature recorded during Wednesday night was minus 3.8 degree Celsius, which is less than the 3.3 degree Celsius of the previous night.Round-the-clock minus temperature has frozen the snow on the roads, the water taps, water bodies and almost everything. And, the icicles hanging from the rooftops amidst overcast sky have brought back the memories of the past.“This kind of a winter was common in 1970s and 1980s. That time, snowfall in December or January was usually followed by long freezing temperatures that would prevent the snow from melting till March. And the long and thick icicles hanging from rooftops were symbolizing the winter. Now, it seems the era has returned,” 60-year-old, Habibulah Roshanghar, of Fateh Kadal said.

The hostile conditions are presenting a tough challenge to the people. The movement on slippery roads has become difficult and dangerous especially in the wee hours.Reportedly, the bone and joints hospitals—the valley’s only specialised orthopedic hospital—received more than 160 patients, majority of them with major fractures, in just two days after the snowfall.Fearing injuries, many, mostly elderly, prefer to stay home.“I have honestly not stepped out of the house since Saturday. Outside the room I cannot afford to take my hand out of the pocket for even a moment, and the frozen snow on the roads feels like shiny glass, difficult to walk on,” said Gulzar Ahmad of Batmaloo.The traffic movement on the city roads has also been both scarce and sluggish. This morning, a mini-bus, no JKOID 7966, overturned at Rangerstop near Khanyar in old city while negotiating a slippery curve. The driver and three others received minor injuries in the mishap.The police, however, could not confirm the incident.

HIGHWAY CLOSED

After remaining open yesterday, the Srinagar-Jammu highway has been closed again for the passenger vehicles.The officials in the traffic control unit said only vehicles carrying essential goods were allowed to move from Jammu towards Srinagar.“There are repairs going on at Battery Cheshma and some other place, so the passenger vehicles were not allowed,” an official said.

BANIHAL: Reports from Banihal said that today 400 vehicles including, 250 trucks carrying essential commodities, 121 Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) and 28 load carrier were allowed to roll from Jammu towards Srinagar. These vehilces crossed the Jawahar tunnel while at-least 1000 trucks were stranded on the other side of tunnel towards Verinag.

The truckers stranded on the other side of Jawahar Tunnel alleged that they were stranded there since last six days and were not allowed to proceed towards Jammu despite clearance of highway.The highway was blockade on Saturday last, due to inclement weather conditions. The traffic problem is getting compounded due to slippery road and avalanche threats at many places.No fresh vehicles carrying passengers or goods were allowed to move both from Jammu & Srinagar and only the stranded vehilces heading towards valley were cleared by the traffic authorities on priority. Meanwhile, power supply in the Upper Banihal area was restored today after seven days of interruption. However, Lower Banihal including town was without power since Friday. 

:As the Kashmir valley is reeling under cold wave conditions for past six days, the Meteorological Department has forecast that the cold and dry weather conditions will intensify for next two days.However, the Director MeT office in Srinagar, Sonam Lotus, said here that another western disturbance on Saturday will result in light to moderate snowfall on Sunday in Kashmir valley.

The snow is expected to give relief to the people who are facing water shortage due to freezing temperatures. The water pipes and taps are frozen for past five days and people in most localities are without water.

The freezing temperatures have frozen the stagnant water bodies and today more parts of the Dal lake were frozen with continuous freezing temperatures.

The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 3.8 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature was recorded at minus 0.5 degree Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Pahalgam was minus 12.1 degrees and the maximum was recorded at minus 1.0 degree Celsius.

The gateway to Kashmir, the South Kashmir town of Qazigund recorded minimum temperature of minus 7.2 degrees Celsius and maximum temperature of minus 0.9 degree Celsius.

The tourist resort of Kokernag recorded a minimum temperature of minus 9.0 degree Celsius and maximum temperature of minus 2.4 degree Celsius.

The North Kashmir township of Kupwara recorded a maximum temperature of 0.6 degree Celsius and minimum temperature of minus 3.9 degrees Celsius.

Gulmarg recorded minus 16.4 degree Celsius while Leh minus 10.4 degree Celsius. Kargil was the coldest in the State at minus 18 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained opened for one way traffic today. The trucks with essential commodities were allowed to ply on the highway from Jammu to Srinagar. Over 100 trucks had crossed the tunnel upto this evening.

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) conducted repairs of the highway today at several places and sprinkled salt at several places to tackle with the slippery road.

Meanwhile, a meeting was held at Qazigund in which Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Kifayat Hussain Rizvi and SP Kulgam Masoodul Hassan besides other officers participated. The meeting reviewed the regulation of the traffic on the highway. The representatives from various agencies participated in the meeting. 

Confusion continues on Srinagar Jammu Highway

The unannounced closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway by the authorities today caused severe inconvenience to the passengers and the drivers as they were not allowed to move beyond Khanabal or Qazigund.However, official sources said that the lack of communication between the traffic officials of Jammu and the Srinagar created chaos.

The road was closed last Thursday following the heavy snowfall in the Valley and many other places along the highway.The officials had yesterday claimed that the road was thrown open for one way traffic and announced that the traffic from Srinagar to Jammu will be allowed to move from Srinagar to Jammu today.

Despite the official announcement the authorities today did not allow any of the vehicles to move towards Jammu thus causing lot of inconvenience to the passengers and the drivers.

Hundreds of passengers were taken by surprise when the traffic officials stopped the vehicles they were traveling in at different places and did not allow them to move ahead.Dozens of traffic police personnel were seen forcibly putting at halt all the Jammu bound passenger and the heavy vehicles near Dak Bangalow Khanabal which led to the long traffic jamming on the highway. Many drivers alleged that the traffic officials deflated their tiers and even beat them after they resisted and tried to move ahead.

“Following the announcement of the traffic authorities that the traffic will be allowed to move from Srinagar to Jammu today I left for Jammu early this morning today. However, on reaching Khanabal, I was stopped by the traffic cops who asked me to go back saying that the road was closed. When I objected and asked them why did they make the announcement, they beat me up and even tried to deflate the tyres of my car,” said Mohammad Ashraf from Pulwama.

Another driver, Shabir Ahmad, who was stopped by the officials near Qazigund said that the authorities are making false claims about the opening of the road only to make the passengers bear the brunt.“If the authorities have not been able to clear the road then they should not make false announcements which only cause inconvenience to the passengers,” he said.

A traffic official wishing anonymity said that there is lack of communication between traffic officials of Srinagar and Jammu which resulted in the mess and the passengers have to bear the brunt.“Last evening it was decided that the traffic from Srinagar to Jammu will be allowed to ply only but the traffic authorities allowed the traffic from the other side also despite knowing that the road was not safe for the two way traffic. The two way traffic on the road led to chaos,” the traffic official said.

Deputy SP, (Rural) Traffic, G M Bhat said that he was directed from his higher ups to stop the all the Jammu bound traffic near Khanabal. “As per the official announcement the traffic was from Srinagar to Jammu. But I was directed not allow any Jammu bound vehicle to move beyond Khanabal and I obeyed the orders. Rest I do not know,” Bhat said.

Rail services suspended in valley

The derailment of the Srinagar bound train allegedly due to negligence of railway authorities near Sadoora railway station in South Kashmir yesterday led to the suspension of the rail services in the valley today. The suspension of the rail services without any announcement by the railway authorities caused much inconvenience to the passengers.Official sources said that the authorities suspended the rail services today as they remained busy with the maintenance of  the railway track throughout the day.“After the yesterday’s incident the railway officials were directed to carry out the maintenance of the train and the track at the site of the accident leading to the suspension of the train services throughout the day today,” official sources said.

A railway official said that the morning train from Baramulla to Qazigund will ply as per the scheduled time tomorrow after which the services may again be suspended.“It may take few more days to carry out the complete maintenance of all the compartments of the train so the authorities may again suspend the rail service in the afternoon tomorrow,” he said.

Meanwhile the unannounced suspension of the rail service caused a lot of inconvenience to the passengers at many railway stations. “Many passengers had arrived at various railway stations early this morning to board the train to their respective destinations but much to their inconvenience they were informed that the train will remain suspended. The railway authorities should have made prior announcement about the suspension of the rail services,” said a railway official wishing anonymity.

Train Derailment in Kashmir Valley

In the first train derailment since the rail services were launched in the valley, at least 30 passengers were injured some of them critically.The train was on its way from Qazigund to Srinagar and derailed near Sadoora village in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district today. While the passengers allege that the accident took place due to the negligence of railway authorities the latter preferred to remain tight lipped.

Officials said that the Srinagar bound train carrying 70 passengers derailed after it developed some technical snag near Sadoora railway station this afternoon. The engine and two bogies of the train derailed as the driver overshot the intended station stop by nearly 200 meters.In the mishap, at least 30 passengers were injured and were shifted immediately to the Emergency hospital Qazigund for treatment.

“Two of the seriously injured passengers were referred to Srinagar hospital in a critical condition,” officials said.The passengers hold the railway authorities responsible for the accident.  “As the train reached near Lewdoora village the smoke started emanating from the engine and many of its compartments. As we complained to the driver he instead of paying any heed  kept moving on. On reaching Sadoora railway station the driver even failed to stop the train and barely 100 feet ahead of the railway station it suddenly got derailed from the track,” said a group of passengers.

They said that had the driver and the other railway staff listened to Them, the mishap could have been averted.Mohammad Shafi of Qazigund, an injured, said the train was having some problem. As it could not stop at Sadoora railway station, the rail officials announced that the train will not stop at any station except the last stop at Ompora-Budgam. But suddenly the mishap occurred.While the railway authorities chose not to comment, the district administration seconded the version of the passengers saying that the accident has occurred out of the negligence of the railway officials.

“The preliminary enquiry and the statements of the passengers   suggest that it was the negligence of railway authorities that resulted into the tragedy. It has also been learnt that there was break failure in the train already,” Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Kifayat Hussain Rizvi told News Agency.He said that he has directed many agencies to enquire into the incident. “I am waiting for the enquiry report and once it comes, action will be taken accordingly,” DC added.However when contacted SP railways, Baker Samoon chose to remain tightlipped saying he cannot comment over the incident.“I was not on spot and cannot comment over what actually led to the mishap. Its better to talk to concerned DC or DIG,” SP said.