Several Gurez villages still cut off post-snowfall

Bandipora, Mar 17:  Following last month’s heavy snowfall in Gurez Valley of north Kashmir's Bandipora district, several villages are still cut off due to non-clearance of snow from the roads.

Even though several internal roads have been connected in centrally-located Dawar, people living in the Tulail region said that the roads were still closed.

These villages include Gujjran, Neeru, Baduaab, Badugam, and Barnaie.

Besides these main habitations, the isolated villages like Safaid Aab, Sikander Nalla, and Garat Nalla are also cut off.

The locals from Baduaab said that the main Tulail road was being cleared from Neeru to Gujjran but at least 13 villages of the hardest-hit block of Tulail were still cut off.

Shabir Ahmad Lone from one of the villages in Tulail said that the Mechanical Department was on the job of clearing the snow, but by Wednesday afternoon, the hopes seemed to have been dashed as the region witnessed fresh snowfall.

Abdul Raheem from the middle zone of Dawar said 1.5 feet of snow was still accumulated on the roads.

"However, the internal roads are open and the nearby villages like Choorwaj and Kanzalwan are also connected,” he said.

Raheem said that the locals were demanding the opening of the Bandipora-Gurez road which had been closed almost three weeks ago after heavy snowfall in the region.

"With the ongoing holy month of Ramadan, there is an acute shortage of fresh vegetables and fruits here," Raheem said.

The residents who otherwise consume sundried vegetables and lentils during the winter want to relish fresh vegetables and fruits during the holy month.

They said that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) should gather pace to open the road as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, in the Bagtore area in the lower zone of Gurez Valley, Mukhtar Ahmad Lone said that the road to Koragbal was blocked after a few avalanches hit the road a week ago.

He said that the patients were having a hard time and appealed to the authorities to clear the road as soon as possible.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Gurez, Mukhtar Ahmad said that the cutting works were ongoing.

“However, the area near Neru Nallah witnessed an avalanche, which is taking time to clear the road,” he said.

Ahmad said that being a hilly terrain, it also takes time for the machinery to move in.

He said that the snow clearance work on the Gurez-Bandipora road was ongoing and the BRO had sought at least 8 to 10 days to open the road.

Ahmad said that to speed up the process, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bandipora had sent a letter to the BRO requesting them to expedite the snow clearance works.