Snowfall brings cheer to tourists in Sonamarg

Sonamarg, Dec 29: The season's first heavy snowfall has brought cheer to hundreds of tourists visiting famous health resort Sonamarg in Ganderbal district.

Sonamarg received about one footof snow since Friday draping it in blanket white. The road leading to tourist destination was closed after the snowfall, but with the improvement in weather, the Beacon authorities pressed its machines to work for snow clearance.

Hundreds of tourists including children were seen enjoying the snowfall near Sonamarg, despite the fresh snowfall brought dip in temperature. “We are really enjoying the snowfall, we feel lucky that we witnessed it, ”a tourist from Mumbai said. “We were here for couple of days and were not expecting this much of snow. However heavy snow has brought so much joy to us,” another tourist from Bengaluru said.

Meanwhile, hoteliers and people associated with the tourism at Sonamarg were expecting good business after the snowfall. “Tourists always love snow and we expect that number of tourists will increase in coming days after the snow which will have a good impact on our business” Mudasir Ahmad, a hotelier told Greater Kashmir. “Everyone associated with tourism is upbeat after the snowfall and hopefully the tourist footfall will increase in coming time" Maysar Hafiz another hotelier said.

The tourists as well as the people associated with tourism at Sonamarg have demanded the opening of Z Morh tunnel that will facilitate the smooth passage and safe travel for visitors to Sonamarg. Pertinently, the administration is gearing up to hold some events at Sonamarg during winter and promote it as a winter tourist destination.