Amid winter’s strange twist, Gurez sees more movement, less snow

Bandipora, Feb 7: The scant snowfall this season has kept Gurez Valley open and bustling for this winter season with unusual activity being witnessed in the peak winter season.

The mobile trucks laden with fresh vegetables and other stocks are almost daily crossing Razdan Top to enter Gurez Valley, creating a “bittersweet” excitement among the locals.

Abdul Raheem Lone, a local, said that during December the road might have remained closed for 10 days at the most.

However, from January until February 5, according to incharge Traffic Control Point (TCP) Kanzalwan in Gurez, Fayaz Ahmad the road has remained open for “almost all days.”

“It is a record that vehicles are plying on the road in February and also plied in January,” Ahmad said.

He said although traffic was halted for a limited time due to “wind-infested snowstorms on Razdan Top,” the road otherwise “has remained open”.

Ahmad said that the road closure was “near to nothing.”

Sub Divisional Magistrate, Mukhtar Ahmad told Greater Kashmir that the road remained open for most of the winter.

“The road has mostly remained open during this winter. However, during some days the road remained closed on bad weather days and subsequently, it took days for the road clearance,” the SDM said.

Meanwhile, locals are feeling excited but they are also worried that the scant snowfall would prove “disastrous”.

“Dawar has witnessed snow of no more than a foot this season,” Raheem, a local and an ex-Panchayat head said.

He said that the Tulail region, which witnesses heavy snowfall, recorded just a foot and a half of snow.

“It's way less than what we used to witness," Lone said.

He said Dawar, which is centrally located in the Gurez Valley, almost recorded 3 feet of snow in the previous season.

“Notably, the less snow has kept Tualil road open too, with people from as far as Gujjran and Abdullain travelling to Dawar almost daily,” Lone said.

One more notable result of this season's unusual winter is that “people are not confined to their homes”, a usual occurrence in bitter winter cold in Gurez.

“There is unusual activity in the movement of the people,” he said.

The pitches on very little snow are keeping cricket enthusiasts busy playing the game.

The water supply pipes which would remain frozen till April are unaffected too.

“It is good that we are getting fresh vegetables and other required stock daily. It makes us happy,” Lone said.

However, drawing concerns over the weather impact, he said it was a worrying factor in terms of the environmental impact it would have.

“More snow brings more water which is beneficial. Less snowfall will badly affect agriculturalists, orchardists, and common masses,” Lone said.

Yet, the residents are hopeful that there is more snow yet to come.

“We can see snowfall in March or April. We hope the relief comes soon,” Lone said.