Snowfall in Kashmir ends long dry spell

Moderate snowfall in plains and heavy snowfall in the upper reaches of the Valley ended an unusually long dry spell in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

Officials said the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only surface link between Kashmir and rest of the country, was closed for traffic on Monday in the wake of heavy snowfall at Jawahar Tunnel and Patnitop areas.

"No vehicle was allowed to move from Srinagar to Jammu or vice-versa on Monday," a traffic police official said.

Reports said the higher reaches of the Valley, including the tourist resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, Pahalgam in south Kashmir and the Pir Panjal mountain range also received heavy snowfall.

The weather office has predicted snow and rainfall till Tuesday.

Reports said roads connecting dozens of villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil, Tangdhar, Keran, Karnah and Teetwal, also remained closed due to heavy snowfall.

Officials said several flights operating from Srinagar Airport were delayed, due to the bad weather.

"However, as the weather cleared in the afternoon flights operated normally," they said.

This is the first major snowfall in Kashmir this winter, which was largely dry so far. The 40-day long period of harsh winter cold, locally known as 'chillai kalan', which starts on December 21 and ends on January 30, ended without any snowfall this time.

Compared to this season, last year, Kashmir received the highest snowfall in 25 years.