Snow not yet cleared from Srinagar areas

Srinagar, Dec 27: Failure of authorities to clear snow from several areas in the summer capital gave a tough time to commuters.

On Saturday, Srinagarites woke up to thick sheet of snow. The roads and lanes were covered with snow, disrupting traffic in the early morning hours. The slippery roads gave commuters a tough time, as they struggled to commute to reach their offices and other destinations.

Normal life was brought to a standstill following the overnight snowfall. The Srinagarites rued that although the major roads were cleared of snow, many link roads and lanes were still full of un-cleared snow. Residents from Downtown, uptown, and Srinagar outskirts, like Hazratbal, said that they had to shovel snow to make way for their vehicles.

“These lanes and bylanes have been left at the mercy of Allah. It is afternoon, and snow has yet to be cleared from our area of Hazratbal. Although the main road was cleared but our lane is full of snow. We had to shovel snow to make way for our vehicles in the morning,” said locals of Gousia Colony Hazratbal.

In addition to lanes and by-lanes, many footpaths were yet to be cleared of snow. They said pedestrians were having a tough time navigating through the city.

“Many footpaths were yet to be cleared of snow. Even in the late afternoon, many lanes, including the Press Colony lane, were yet to be cleared from snow. We hope that authorities will press in more men to clear the snow as soon as possible,” said Mohammad Rafiq, an office goer in Lalchowk.

"Instead of sophisticated snow clearance machines, JCBs were used to clear snow from roads in Lal Chowk. This can damage the roads," said Abdul Hamid, a commuter.

Meanwhile, many areas in Srinagar faced power disruptions on Saturday morning. The officials, however, said that men and machinery were pressed to restore power in areas where it faced disruption.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat said that all the departments were well prepared to tackle the inclement weather.

“Men and machinery from R&B, SMC, and KPDCL were working tirelessly to restore every service. The priority one roads were cleared swiftly by the departments. In the same way, majority of the roads under R&B were also cleared by the afternoon. The remaining lanes and bylanes are being cleared as the day progresses. KPDCL also restored all the power, and there is a normal supply of power in Srinagar. 297, 11kv feeders were also restored by the power department in Srinagar, and supply was restored accordingly,” Bhat said.