Flight operations disrupted in Kashmir after fresh snowfall

A woman walks as a man rides a bicycle on the banks of the Dal Lake during a snowfall in Srinagar on January 12, 2020. (Photo by Tauseef MUSTAFA / AFP)


Already under internet shutdown for more than 160 days, fresh snowfall in Kashmir threw life out of gear in the Valley on Sunday and disrupted flight operations at the airport in Srinagar, officials said. Most parts of the Valley received moderate to heavy snowfall on Sunday which continued during the day.

According to weather office, while the plains received light to moderate snowfall, the higher reaches of the Valley and Jammu and Ladakh regions experienced heavy snowfall.

Srinagar city recorded two cms of snow till 8:30 am, while Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district recorded nine cms, he said.

Gulmarg ski-resort in Baramulla district of north Kashmir recorded eight cm of fresh snow, while Kupwara, also in the north, received 25 cms, the official added. There are reports of heavy snowfall in most parts in the higher reaches of the Valley, Jammu region and some parts of Ladakh Union territory, he said.

The weather office has forecast widespread snowfall across the Valley till Monday. The snowfall affected flight operations at the Srinagar airport as no flight was able to land till about noon.

Private airlines Indigo canceled all flights to and fro Srinagar for the day, an official said. He, however, said if there was an improvement in the weather, the air traffic would most likely resume.