BRO restores snowbound Kishtwar–Sansari road, reconnects J&K’s Chenab Valley with Himachal
The road enables transport of essential commodities, agricultural produce, and trade between Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
The road enables transport of essential commodities, agricultural produce, and trade between Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
The visuals underline the sheer intensity of the avalanche and the speed at which it struck the area.
Himachal Pradesh faces an unusually dry December with a 100% rainfall deficit. Popular tourist spots like Shimla, Manali, and Kurfi await their first snowfall, prompting the Shimla Winter Carnival to use cotton snow for celebrations.
Breaking the long-stretched dry spell across the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, the iconic tourist destinations of Gulmarg and Sonamarg in the Kashmir Valley on Sunday witnessed the season’s first snowfall, coinciding with the onset of the 40-day harsh winter period known as Chillai Kalan.
The higher reaches of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh received a fresh spell of snowfall, and parts of the mid-hills recorded light rainfall the previous day, blocking the Manali-Leh highway between Darcha and Sarchu.
The second snowfall in New Year had affected normal life in Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti districts and had forced tourists and locals alike to remain indoors.
Snowfall is continuing at many places including Jawahar Tunnel – the gateway to Kashmir valley, while rains triggered multiple landslides along Panthiyal-Ramsu stretch overnight.
The Srinagar-Jammu national highway was closed for traffic for the third consecutive day on Saturday due to bad weather, a Traffic Department official said.
The snowfall which started in the evening had resulted in cold wave conditions across the state and the lower region of Himachal was witnessing mild to heavy rainfall since last night.
At least two soldiers died after they were trapped in an avalanche in southern Siachen Glacier at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet on Saturday.
