Fresh snowfall in Jammu region

Jammu/Srinagar, Dec 10: Snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday led to the closure of the Mughal Road which connects Rajouri and Shopian districts. However, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained open despite intermittent rainfall.

The 84-km-long Mughal Road which connects Rajouri district in the Jammu region with Shopian district in the Kashmir valley was closed on Thursday following fresh snowfall which blocked the road at Peer Ki Gali and Heerpora areas.

"Many vehicles are stranded and continuous snowfall in the area is hampering road clearance operation. The track has become slippery so we have halted traffic on the road," a government official in Jammu told IANS.

However, traffic continued to ply on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway which is the vital surface link of the landlocked valley with rest of the world.

The 422-km Srinagar-Leh highway connecting Ladakh province with Kashmir was also open on Thursday for one way traffic despite light snowfall.

The weather office has forecast widespread rains and snowfall during the next 36 hours in the state.

"Scattered light rain started in the morning in Srinagar city...," an official of the Met Office told IANS.

The official said the minimum temperature was 2.8 degrees Celsius in Srinagar city on Thursday, while it was 1.3 in Pahalgam, minus 3.0 in Gulmarg, minus 6.7 in Leh town, and minus 5.6 in Kargil town of Ladakh region.

In the Jammu region, the minimum temperatures on Thursday was 13.0 degrees Celsius in Jammu, 11.6 in Katra, 3.2 in Banihal, 5.5 in Batote and 4.1 in Bhaderwah.

Leh at minus 6.7 degrees Celsius was the coldest town in the state on Thursday.

IANS