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| Cold wave grips Kashmir; Leh and Kargil get some respite | | One-way traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway restored | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR Jan 16 : The Valley was today gripped by intense cold wave with temperature coming down to a record low of minus 16.1 degrees Celsius in Pahalgam resort, resulting in partial freezing of Dal lake and other water bodies in the state, a MET department official said. Meanwhile Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only road link between Valley and the rest of the country, was today thrown open for one-way traffic after remaining closed for two days due to heavy snowfall.
“Vehicles from Jammu have been allowed to proceed towards Srinagar today as the snow clearance operations have been completed last evening,” a spokesman of the Traffic Control Room said.
Pahalgam in south Kashmir, recorded the coldest night of this winter as mercury plunged by nearly 14 degrees since the previous night.
Gulmarg in north Kashmir saw a sharp dip in minimum temperature as mercury fell to 14.2 deg below freezing point compared to yesterday’s minus 10.6 deg C, the official said.
Srinagar also saw the night temperature settle at minus 3.7 deg C.
Kupwara froze at minus 8.1 deg C while Qazigund had a minimum of minus 7.6 deg C.
However, residents of Ladakh, which is the coldest region in the state, got some respite from the cold wave as night temperature increased by a couple of degrees in both Leh and Kargil district town headquarters.
While Kargil recorded a minimum of minus 13.4 deg C compared to yesterday’s minus 16.4 deg C, Leh had a night temperature of minus 8.0 deg C -- 1.4 deg C higher than last night.
The sudden plunge in the minimum temperature across the Valley was due to the heavy snowfall on Friday, which had brought the minimum temperature close to freezing point.
The fresh cold wave has resulted in formation of thin layer of ice on the surface of Dal Lake and several other water bodies in the valley, officials said adding water taps in many parts of the valley were also frozen due to the dip in minimum temperature.
He said the movement of vehicles on the arterial road to Kashmir Valley was allowed in the afternoon, as freezing temperatures had rendered the highway unsafe for traffic at Patnitop, Banihal and Qazigund.
“The melting snow had turned into ice, which had rendered the road unsafe. Now, the road is clear after the ice has started melting,” he said.
The 294-km road, which connects the winter capital Jammu to summer capital Srinagar, was closed on Thursday night following heavy snowfall on either side of the Jawahar Tunnel in the Pir Panjal mountain range.
All the stranded vehicles on the road were cleared yesterday in order to avoid traffic jams on the highway today.
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