Srinagar, Jan 30: Normal life in Kashmir was disrupted on the final day of the ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, the harshest winter period in the region, on Monday as fresh snowfall snapped the Valley’s connections with the rest of the country, affecting surface and air traffic, officials said

The wet weather and poor invisibility forced the Srinagar airport authorities to cancel 66 inbound and outbound flights, according to officials, resulting in chaotic scenes at the airport terminal. “Our visibility is only 200 M and there is continuous snowfall. We are simultaneously clearing the snow. To avoid inconvenience and to avoid Congestion please check the status of your flight from your airlines before coming to the airport,” it said.

Later in the evening, the airport authority said that atleast 64 flights were cancelled due to continuous snowfall.

Surface traffic from the Kashmir Valley to the Jammu region was completely cut off, as both the Srinagar-Jammu and Shopian-Poonch highways were closed. ” Jammu Srinagar NHW blocked due to shooting stones and mudslides at several places between Chanderkot and Banihal,” the traffic authorities said.

The Railway Authorities also informed that the train service will remain suspended until the snow on the railway line is removed. “The railway will resume its operations as soon as the snow is cleared. After the snow is cleared, WDS 4 will go first, apologize for the inconvenience,” Railway officials said.

Snowfall Hits Power Supply

Snowfall since early affected power supply in many areas in Kashmir Valley even as authorities said that the restoration work was going on and expressed optimism about early restoration.

“Due to heavy snowfall, electric supply to many areas of Kashmir Valley got disrupted. The load of the whole valley dipped below 850 MWs during the early morning hours,” an official of the KPDCL said in a statement.

Out of total 33 KV feeders, he said, 14 were under fault along with four 33 KV Taplines which affected the power supply mainly to Sopore, Kupwara and Handwara area of north Kashmir. Few portions of District Budgam and of District Anantnag were also affected due to the outage of 4 No. of 33 KV lines. In addition, he said, around 215 11 KVfeeders were under fault due to heavy snowfall.

From early morning, Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Ltd. field teams were mobilized to rectify the faults. Despite the continuous snowfall and braving the extreme freezing temperature, he said, the field teams were able to bring up the load of Kashmir Valley to around 1590 MWs by 3 PM.

It is pertinent to mention that at present only four 33 KV lines which specially feed to Sopore area of District Baramullah and few areas of Bijbehera are under fault and by evening all the 33 KV lines will be charged, he said. “Out of all the 11 KV feeders only 154 feeders remain out due to the faulty status of four 33KV lines.”

MD, KPDCL is himself closely monitoring the situation and assures the public that all the feeders will be up and live, the official said.

Meanwhile, he said, the Managing Director has also praised the patience shown by the public towards the Corporation that may have been affected by the disrupted electric lines that were under faulty since morning and assures the public that the field team of KPDCL won’t rest till all the feeders are up and running.

Avalanche Warning Issued for 10 Districts

Jammu and Kashmir Disaster Management Authority issued avalanche warning for ten districts in upcoming 24 hours, amid prevailing inclement weather conditions.

The authority has warned of possible ‘High Danger Level’ avalanche above 2500 metres above sea-level over Doda, Kishtwar and Poonch districts.

Avalanche with ‘Medium Danger Level’ is likely to occur above 1500 to 2500 metres over Bandipora, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam and Ramban, reads the advisory.

Avalanche with ‘Low Danger Level’ is likely to occur above 1500 metres over Anantnag district.

“People living in these areas are advised to take precautions and avoid venturing in the avalanche prone areas”, the advisory reads.

Two houses damaged after Chinar tree branch falls on them in Uri

Two residential houses were damaged in Mohura Uri after a branch of Chinar tree fell on them amid snowfall in the area in Baramulla district of north Kashmir on Monday, officials said. The houses, they said, belong to Ghulma Hussan Khan son of Ghulam Mohammad Khan and Janghir Ahmed Khan son of Ghulam Hassan Khan.

Later a team of the Revenue Department reached the spot and assessed the estimated loss to the property. An official of the local administration said that there was fortunately no loss of life or injury in the incident. “The inmates of the house came out in time and fortunately every one of them is safe.

Exams Postponed

The Cluster University officials said that all the examinations of Cluster University Srinagar scheduled on 30th of
January, 2023 have been postponed due to inclement weather. “Fresh dates for
postponed papers shall be notified separately,” said Controller Exams CU Srinagar.

Meanwhile, the Kashmir University also said that all PG, engineering and other examinations scheduled to be held on January 30, 2023 (Monday) postponed in view of inclement weather conditions, fresh dates for the deferred Examinations will be notified separately later.