Snow blocks Srinagar highway, all flights cancelled

SRINAGAR - Heavy snowfall and inclement weather Thursday cut off the Valley from the outside world as the Srinagar-Jammu highway remained closed and all flights to and from Srinagar were cancelled.

“The Srinagar-Jammu highway has been closed because of a heavy snowfall in the Qazigund-Banihal sector of the highway. The district magistrate of Anantnag has ordered that traffic shall remain suspended on Qazigund-Banihal stretch of the highway till further orders.”

“This has been done to avoid any possible mishap on the road because of highly slippery conditions,” an official of the traffic department said here.

All passenger flights to and from the Srinagar international airport were also cancelled Thursday because of poor visibility and continuous snowfall here.

“No passenger flights were operated today to or from the Srinagar international airport,” an official of the Airports Authority of India said here.

Meanwhile, the weather department has forecast that moderate to heavy snowfall is likely in the Valley Friday.

Authorities have pressed snow clearing machines into service to clear accumulated snow from the roads and highways in the Valley.

These road clearing machines had moved out early Thursday to remove snow from the roads in Srinagar city.

Reports from all other district headquarters of the Valley also indicated road clearance operations were undertaken there as well throughout the day to ensure inter district connectivity here.

Kashmir’s Divisional Commissioner Asgar Hussain Samoon told media persons here that there are sufficient stocks of food grains, medicines, petroleum products including LPG cylinders and other essentials to last twenty days in case of any eventuality caused by adverse weather conditions.