Snowfall warning: MHA advises Himachal, Uttarakhand, J-K to take precautions

In the wake of the snowfall warnings issued by Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday advised the chief secretaries of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir to closely monitor the situation and take precautions.

In a statement, the MHA said, "The State Governments are advised to keep a close watch, monitor the situation in those areas regularly and take precautionary measures. District Authorities be advised accordingly. It is also requested that MHA may be kept informed about any developments in this regard."

Incessant snowfall in the Kashmir Valley last week led to the interim government declaring it a state-specific 'natural calamity'.

Snow has also led to extensive damage of agricultural products in the state, especially to the state's apple production. The declaration of the natural calamity was in-part done to provide additional relief to the affected farmers from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

The State Executive Committee (SEC) decided to categorize apple as a perennial crop given the fact that it takes many years for fruition, approving an increment of the quantum of relief from Rs 18,000 per hectare to Rs 36,000 per hectare for damage to perennial crops like apple.