EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR /JAMMU, Jan 24 : The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only road-link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, was today thrown open for one-way traffic after remaining closed for two days due to snowfall. "The national highway is open for traffic today. One-way traffic is being allowed to ply from Jammu to Srinagar," a Traffic Department spokesman said here. The 300-km-long arterial highway was cleared of snow yesterday by the men and machines of Border Roads Organisation and those vehicles which were stranded due to the snowfall on Wednesday were allowed to travel, he said. Over 900 vehicles, which were stranded at various places in Nagrota, Sidhra, Jakhani, Udhampur, Kud, Chenani, Ramban, Banihal and Jawahar tunnel areas, have been cleared and allowed to move to their destinations. Air traffic was also restored late yesterday afternoon as the flights to and fro Srinagar Airport were made operational following improvement in the weather conditions. The Valley had received a fresh spell of snowfall on Wednesday, which was the heaviest in the month of January in the last 10 years.
However, the MET Department here has said the weather would remain mainly dry for the next few days. Meanwhile, the night temperature in most parts of the Valley improved slightly providing some relief to the people. Srinagar recorded a low of 0.9 degree Celsius as against 0.1 degree Celsius the previous night, an official of the MET Department here said. South Kashmir towns of Qazigund and Kokernag recorded the minimum temperatures of minus 1.0 degrees Celsius and minus 1.3 degrees Celsius respectively.
The towns had registered the minimum temperatures of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius and minus 5.0 degrees Celsius respectively the previous night.
The mercury in the tourist resort of Pahalgam, also in south Kashmir, increased by over four degrees from the previous night's low of minus 10.3 degrees Celsius, to settle at a minimum of minus 5.5 degrees Celsius last night. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 8.4 degrees Celsius, slightly down from minus 7.6 degrees Celsius the previous night. Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a low of 0.7 degree Celsius, he said.
Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, recorded a low of minus 4.0 degrees Celsius, almost three degrees up from the minus 7.1 degrees the previous night. Kargil was the coldest place in the state with the mercury settling at minus 18.4 degrees Celsius last night. |
