Gurez turns to wood fireplaces for warmth

Bandipora, Oct 6: The first signs of winter have gripped Gurez Valley in north Kashmir a bit earlier this season.

With light snowfall coupled with rain, residents have lit their traditional wood fireplaces to keep warm as temperatures have dipped across the region.

“The mountain tops are covered in snow, and rain is lashing the valley. It is too cold, everyone is draped in heavy woolens,” said Abdul Raheem Lone of Gurez.

“Even Bukharis (wood fireplaces) have been lit. Families are huddled around the Bukharis,” said Lone, who lives in centrally located Dawar Tehsil.

Early snowfall has brought both beauty and disruption to the remote valley.

Razdan Top, which connects Gurez with the rest of Bandipora district and sits at an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, received around 2 to 3 inches of snow, officials said.

SDM Gurez confirmed that traffic movement on the Bandipora-Gurez road was temporarily suspended due to slippery conditions.

“We are monitoring the situation closely, and if the weather permits, Light Motor Vehicles will be allowed,” the official said. Heavy snowfall often shuts the Bandipora-Gurez road completely, cutting the valley’s only surface connectivity with the mainland for months, sometimes for as long as six months.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which maintains the stretch, routinely undertakes snow-clearance operations using heavy machinery.

Notably, the chill-filled winds on Razdan Top and the slide-prone terrain make these operations difficult.

To ensure essentials during the long isolation, the administration stocks up supplies, including food grains, fuel, and medicines, by October each year, enough to last the valley for six months. Meanwhile, life in Gurez has already begun to slow as residents brace for the harsh winter ahead. “The weather has been unforgiving for some years now. At times, most of the winter runs dry, and sometimes heavy snowfall makes it nearly impossible to move out,” Lone said.