Hundreds of tourists and local passengers were stranded as all 40 flights from the Srinagar airport were canceled and the strategic Jammu–Srinagar highway shut due to heavy snowfall on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir.

Continuous snowfall and low visibility made the authorities cancel all flights from Srinagar. Snow was cleared from the runway and apron area of the airport in the morning but continuous snow prevented flights from taking off or landing in Srinagar.

Advertisement

Several passengers have been stranded at Ramban on the Jammu–Srinagar highway due to snow and landslides. Shooting stones were reported at several points on the highway.

The district authorities of Ramban made arrangements for the lodging of stranded passengers and served lunch and dinner to them.

The traffic police announced that vehicular traffic on Jammu–Srinagar highway will remain suspended on Sunday as heavy rains, snowfall has triggered large-scale shooting stones, landslides and slippery road conditions. The highway is blocked at many places. People advised not to undertake any journey, said the traffic police.

The Mangit area in Ramban recorded 5 ft snow and it was still snowing there.
Police evacuated sick persons in many snowbound areas to hospitals.
In wake of overnight snowfall in the Srinagar district, the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad toured various areas of the Srinagar city to inspect snow-clearance operations and take first hand assessment of other arrangements put in place to deal with challenges from the prevailing weather situation in the district.

The DC visited various areas of the City including Dalgate, Rajbagh, Lal Ded, Magarmal Bagh, Jehangir Chowk, Batamaloo, Bemina and other adjoining areas. He was informed that snow from most of the main roads have been cleared by the Mechanical Engineering Department and about 70 percent inner link roads have been cleared, while Srinagar Municipal Corporation is on job to clear the lanes and by-lanes for the convenience of the pedestrians.
The DCs of other districts of the valley also took stock of the snow clearance operations in their respective jurisdictions.

Temperature in Jammu has dipped due to continuing rains and a storm during last night.

Meanwhile, National Conference President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah has sought immediate resumption of road connectivity across the snow bound areas in Jammu and Kashmir.
Expressing concern over the difficulties faced by people of remote hamlets and upper reaches  of north, south and central Kashmir, Dr Farooq in a statement said, “The major arterials connecting Dawar, Kanzalwun, Keran, Karna, Gurez and Jumgund to their district headquarters haven’t been cleared of snow yet. People living in those areas are going through immense difficulties.”