Snowfall disrupts normal life in south Kashmir’s Shopian, Pulwama

Shopian, Dec 28: Residents in south Kashmir's Shopian and Pulwama districts on Saturday woke up to a heavy snowfall.

The snowfall, which began on Friday afternoon, continued throughout the night, burying all the roads and thoroughfares in the twin districts.

The low-lying areas of Shopian district recorded 12-13 inches of snow while the upper reaches witnessed significantly heavier snowfall.

According to an official, Heerpora, Sedow and many areas in Kellar block recorded around 2 to 3 feet of snow.

He said that Peer ki Gali along the heritage Mughal road received nearly 4 to 5 feet of snow.

Many outlying villages in the district continued to remain inaccessible as the heavy accumulation of snow clogged the roads and approaches to these villages.

Shabir Ahmad Kullay, MLA Shopian told Greater Kashmir that several remote villages including Zrakan Shalidar, Sedow Aarbal, Nowpora Bala, Kathawhalan Duanroo and Sarbal Devpora remained out of bounds.

He attributed the failure to clear the snow in these areas to the lack of coordination between PMGSY, R&B, and the Mechanical Division.

"There is confusion over which department or division is responsible for clearing which roads", Kullay said.

However, Abdul Rehman, Assistant Executive Engineer ( Mechanical Division) said that 85 percent of the both priority 1 and priority 2 roads were cleared in the district.

" By tomorrow, we hope to clear the remaining roads", said the official.

Meanwhile, the District Development Commissioner Shopian , Mohammad Shahid Saleem, put three Assistant Executive Engineers( AEEs) of the R & B department under suspension for being absent from their duties.

According to an order, the officials have been found absconding and were attached with the control room set up at district headquarters.

In neighbouring Pulwama district, the snow clearance operation went on at full throttle throughout the day.

The plains of the district received around 7 to 9 inches of snow while the upper reaches like Achgoza, Sangarwani and Abhama recorded a snowfall of 1 to 1.5 feet.

According to an official, around 95 percent of the roads in the district have been cleared.

"The remaining roads will be cleared by tomorrow morning", he said.

Due to the slippery condition on roads, several vehicles skidded but no accidents involving injuries or loss of life were witnessed.

Most of the people preferred to stay indoors in their homes due to intense cold weather conditions.

Meanwhile, the residents in both the areas complained about the water shortage due to freezing of water pipes and tanks.