ET Plus Report
Srinagar, Mar 17 : Officials of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) braved back-breaking terrain and sub-zero temperatures today to clear the snow-covered highway connecting Ladakh with the rest of the country in Kashmir.
A snow machine operator, Gulam Rasool said, "We are facing a lot of difficulties, and the work we are doing is very risky. We started our work from kilometre 72 and we have now reached 100. There are still eight more kilometres remaining to reach a point, which is set at 108 kilometres. People of both Ladakh and Srinagar remain disconnected for six months."
The cranes helped in clearing the snow, which had blanketed the highway in white.
The BRO personnel are assigned with the task of clearing the snow-bound stretch across Zojila Pass, situated at 11,578-feet above sea level.
"Every year for five to six months, this national highway remains closed because of heavy snow and the remaining six months, when it is opened, it is used for transporting stocks to the upper regions. It remains closed not only because of snow but the area itself is very difficult, this terrain is very difficult. We have frequent avalanches, landslides and that is why it is all the more difficult," said Brigadier, T. P. S Rawat, chief engineer of this operation.
The BRO personnel engaged in clearing the highway, which is covered under ten feet of snow, suffer casualties due to the dangerous terrain and the frequent avalanches and landslides.
The authorities are expected to clear the highway within a fortnight. Located in the tropics, most of India experiences very hot summers and largely temperate winters.
Snow is therefore a rarity, and hill stations in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are very popular with tourists are eager to enjoy it while they can.
Snowfall in these regions had a direct impact as temperatures plummeted at many places in the heartland of India such as Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. |
