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The season’s first snowfall in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Thursday. (Exprss photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
Roads clogged with snow, electricity supply snapped since Wednesday night and damaged trees — the season’s first snowfall has put Kashmir out of gear despite an advisory by the Met Department three days ago. The Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been closed to vehicular traffic and officials at Srinagar airport said 32 flights were cancelled Thursday due to bad weather.
At least four snow-related deaths have been reported in Kashmir in the last 24 hours, officials said.
With the onset of winter, parts of Kashmir including, Gulmarg and Sonamarg, received first snowfall of the season Wednesday. (Express photo: Shuaib Masoodi)
Snowfall, which began late Wednesday night, has damaged trees and electricity lines at several places. It has caused extensive damage to apple trees and apples kept in storage in south Kashmir. As per preliminary reports, heavy damage has been reported in plain and upper reaches, according to an official statement quoting a horticulture department official.
While an Army porter and a J&K Police Special Police Officer were killed in an avalanche in Kupwara on Wednesday night, a person died after a tree fell on him in Srinagar’s Habak area on Wednesday afternoon. Another was killed in a snow-related incident in Pulwama.
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The downpour in the plains has significantly brought down the day temperature in the city. (Express photo: Shuaib Masoodi)
While J&K administration’s spokesperson Rohit Kansal, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Khan and Srinagar District Commissioner Shahid Iqbal were unavailable for comment, the government issued multiple statements on Thursday. DC Baseer Khan convened a meeting to “review the winter preparedness” and “snow clearance preparedness”, according to a statement.
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