Hopes on sarpanches

After the oath-taking ceremony of elected sarpanches, residents of panchayats in the region are now looking forward to the elected representatives to carry out developmental works in their respective panchayats without any delay. Residents of the respective panchayats visited the offices to apprise the sarpanches about various issues, including repair/maintenance of lanes and drains, construction of houses for below poverty line families, etc. Vikas Sharma 

Panic buying! 

Forecast of heavy snowfall in the Kashmir valley had triggered panic buying in the markets on January 17 and 18. The meteorological office had forecast heavy snowfall from January 19 to 23. The panic was palpable in the markets, especially in the evening of January 18, when it started snowing ahead of the forecast. Locals were seen buying extra eatables fearing disruption of normal life due to snow. However, people were surprised when there was no snowfall at all during the day on January 19. Later, it snowed in the evening but it was light. The Valley had also received snowfall on January 16 when there was no forecast. Fingers are crossed whether the Valley would now receive the ‘heavy snowfall’ till January 23 as forecast by the weatherman. M Aamir Khan

Veggies change colour

The dry and cold weather in Jammu besides taking toll on health of people is also affecting green vegetables. Due to the weather, leaves of vegetables often turn rust red. The agronomists claim that the chlorophyll in leaves of vegetables reacts chemically in dry cold weather. This changes the colour of leaves. Though experts say such vegetables do not harm health of consumers, vendors claim they are seeing a dip in sale of vegetables due to it. Vikram Sharma