Heavy snowfall cuts Kashmir Valley

, Mar 11: Kashmir Valley was today cut off from rest of the country due to heavy snowfall as the arterial Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained closed while flights to the city airport here could not operate.

Heavy snowfall has been reported from across the Valley with Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, also getting nearly one feet of snow since last night. The snowfall has led to closure of the 294-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all weather road link between the valley and rest of the country, a traffic department official said.

He said the ongoing snowfall was hampering the road clearance operations. An official of the airport authority of India said no flight has been able to arrive at Srinagar airport since this morning due to the snowfall.

"No flights have been cancelled so far, but if it continues to snow, the chances of any flights arriving here are bleak," he added. The authorities closed the schools for two days while Kashmir University has postponed all the exams scheduled for the day. The snowfall and rains since yesterday have affected normal life in the Valley as people preferred to stay indoors today.

Many roads of the city including commercial hub of Lal Chowk and Exhibition crossing have been inundated and people are facing difficulty in moving around. MeT department has forecast rain or snowfall in most parts of Kashmir over the next 24 hours.

PTI