‘Heartening to see Kashmiris open homes to stranded’: As temperature plummets in Valley, tales of warmth

“Heartening to see Kashmiris opening their masjids and homes to stranded tourists amidst heavy snowfall,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq posted on X. “This gesture of warmth and humanity reflects our longstanding tradition of hospitality and help in times of need.”

Several hundred tourists, who were returning from the Sonamarg tourist destination, were stranded between Gagangir and Gund villages in Kagan. As the vehicles came to halt because of the snow, the villagers opened their homes and the Jamia Masjid Gund for stranded tourists.

“When we were informed that a large number of tourists were stranded, our volunteers from different villages came out to help them. The villagers opened their homes for them,” said Irfan Raina, the chairman of the Civil Society Tehsil Gund that helped the tourists alongside the management committee of the Jamia Masjid.

Raina said that around 1,000 tourists were accommodated in the villages of Gund. “We accommodated the women and children in our homes and provided them with food and warm water,” he said. “The men were accommodated in the Jamia Masjid.”

A large number of tourists were stranded inside the Navyug tunnel that connects the Kashmir valley with the Jammu region, with several people claiming that vehicular emission and sub-zero temperatures made visibility poor in the tunnel.

While the Srinagar-Jammu highway has been closed for traffic, all the flights coming to and leaving from the Srinagar airport were cancelled. “Jammu-Srinagar NHW is still closed. Clearance work is going on, Man & machinery is on job. Commuters are advised to avoid journeys on NH-44 till the weather improves and the road is clear,” the traffic police posted on X.

The Airport Authority of Srinagar said: “Due to bad weather conditions, all flights at Srinagar Airport have been cancelled. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines for updates. We regret the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding”.

Snowfall began on later Friday afternoon and continued into Saturday. While around eight inches of snow was recorded in Srinagar city, some parts of south Kashmir received around two feet of snow.

Mukhtar Ahmad, director of the Meteorological Department in Kashmir, said the snow was “unexpected”. “This is a classic case of WD (Western disturbance),” he told The Indian Express.

The dramatic onset of snow marks the first week of the Chillai Kalan, or ‘the mighty cold’ – the hardest 40-day period of winter. Typically lasting from December 21 to end January, the snow in Chillai Kalan has been an increasingly rare phenomenon in Kashmir in the last two decades. Snow in Chillai Kalan, when the temperatures plummet several notches below zero degrees, lasts longer and helps to refill the glaciers, a major source of water in the Valley.

With Kashmir witnessing an estimated 83 percent of rainfall deficiency in the last three months, this dramatic change is seen as welcome relief.

But the heavy snow has also snapped power lines in most parts of the state and led to road closures.

While electricity was restored in some parts by Saturday afternoon, outages continued in other parts of Kashmir. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Saturday that he is monitoring the situation and promised that electricity in most of the parts of the Valley will be restored by Saturday evening.

“In Kashmir region, 41 feeders of 33 KV level and 739 feeders of 11 KV level are down. None at 132 KV level and 220 KV,” Abdullah posted on X. “Restoration work is underway and more than 90% (of the) feeders are expected to be up and functional by today evening. I am in regular touch with the PDD team to monitor the situation.”