Fresh snowfall in J-K

Fresh snowfall occurred in the famous tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir even as most other places in the Valley remained dry, with the state expected to experience another spell of wet weather from Wednesday.
Pahalgam, which serves as base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra during summer, received fresh snowfall during the night, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.
He said the resort recorded 11 cm of snowfall since yesterday and the night temperature at the resort rose by two notches to settle at a low of minus 4.7 degrees Celsius, he said.
He said Qazigund and Kokernag towns, also in south Kashmir, were other places in the Valley where the mercury went up.

While Qazigund recorded the minimum of 1.2 degrees Celsius, the mercury in Kokernag settled at a low of 0.9 degree Celsius, the official said.
Kokernag received 6.4 mm of rainfall as well, he said.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, registered a low of minus 0.1 degree Celsius compared to 1.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, recorded a low of minus 8.5 degrees Celsius as against the previous night's minus 7.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.
Kupwara town, in north Kashmir, which had witnessed a low of minus 1.5 degrees Celsius the previous night, registered the minimum of minus 1.9 degrees Celsius, the official said.

He said the mercury in Leh, in Ladakh region, rose nearly four notches from the previous night's low of minus 12.9 degrees Celsius to record a low of minus 9.2 degrees Celsius.
Leh was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.
The minimum temperature in nearby Kargil town settled at minus 7.1 degrees Celsius, the official said.
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Meanwhile, Minister for Roads and Buildings, A R Veeri, yesterday convened a meeting to review the snow clearance and dewatering arrangements in view of snowfall and rain predictions in the State.
The Minister Veeri directed the officers to keep their men and machinery ready and clear all roads and by-lanes within the shortest possible time so that people do not face any difficulty, an official spokesman said here.

He said the meeting was informed that all the concerned Departments were ready to meet any eventuality and adequate men and machinery have been kept on standby mode for snow clearance measures.
It was said that besides three main control rooms, all sub-control rooms in the Valley were working 24X7 for the convenience of the general public.
Veeri directed the officers to ensure timely clearance of snow from main roads, lanes and by lanes in the district, especially on roads leading to important installations, the spokesman said.
The Minister was informed that every snow clearing machine has been allotted a route map and the machines will swung into action as soon as snow starts accumulating.

"Any lapse in the snow clearance would not be tolerated and responsibility will be fixed in case of any complaints," he warned.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, also conveyed a meeting yesterday to review the arrangements put in place regarding snow clearance, the spokesman said.
He said the divisional commissioner was briefed that 310 snow cutter machines have been kept ready for the purpose, besides several machines have been dispatched to far flung areas of the Valley for augmenting snow clearance operations.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' considered the harshest period of winter, when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

'Chillai-Kalan', which, began on December 21 last year, ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).