Snowfall shuts highway to Ladakh region

Srinagar, November 13

The second spell of snowfall on Tuesday forced the closure of the highway to the remote Ladakh region.

An official of the traffic department said the highway to Ladakh was shut following snowfall at Zojila which has made vehicular movement dangerous along the mountainous stretch.

The official said Mughal Road, which connects south Kashmir’s Shopian district with Jammu region’s Poonch district, has also been shut following fresh snowfall over higher reaches of the region.

In addition to these two crucial roads, the official said the road to the remote Gurez region in north Kashmir had also been closed for traffic due to snowfall in the area.

The official, however, said the Srinagar-Jammu highway remained opened for traffic.

The second spell of autumnal snowfall began over mountainous areas of the Kashmir valley on Monday.

The earlier snowstorm in first week in November had hit all districts of the Valley and caused a largescale damage to orchards and electricity transmission network and also forced the closure of Srinagar airport and highways leading in and out of the Valley.

Kashmir has registered a drastic drop in temperature since the season’s first snowfall with the mercury plunging several degrees below the normal.

The minimum temperature in Gulmarg was recorded at minus 4.4°C, the lowest across Valley where the night temperature at most places settled above the freezing point last night.