South Kashmir bears maximum brunt

Anantnag, Dec 28: The heavy snowfall that began late Friday afternoon blanketed the south Kashmir districts on Saturday, leading to road closures and significant disruptions in utility services, forcing residents to remain confined to their homes.

The upper reaches of the region received up to 4 feet of snow, while low-lying areas were covered under approximately 1.5 feet of snow.

In Anantnag, areas like Kokernag, Daksum, Verinag, Kapran, Pahalgam, and Qazigund recorded snowfall of up to 2 feet.

High-altitude regions such as Sinthan Top and Margan Top along Kokernag-Kishtwar and Kokernag-Warwan-Marwa accumulated over 4 feet of snow.

Even Anantnag town experienced 15 inches of snowfall.

Despite snow clearance machines being deployed on major roads, including the Srinagar-Anantnag national highway, Khanabal-Pahalgam (KP) road, Anantnag-Shangus, Anantnag-Kokernag, Anantnag-Dooru, and Bijbehara-Pahalgam routes, slippery road conditions made traffic movement difficult.

Locals said that most link roads connecting villages to towns and main roads remained inaccessible.

The locals said that patients were forced to walk to reach health centres, despite assistance from the Police and district administration.

Officials said that priority was given to clearing snow from main roads and efforts were ongoing to clear link roads.

The snowfall severely disrupted the power supply across the district as most of the feeders remained down.

While electricity was restored in towns by evening, most villages remained in darkness.

In neighbouring Kulgam district, the situation was grimmer, with areas like Damhal Hanjipora, D K Marg, and Aharbal receiving 2 to 2.5 feet of snow.

Locals reported carrying patients on cots to reach the nearest health facilities.

Khurshid Ahmad from D K Marg said, “Around 2 feet of snow has piled up in our area, and the link roads have not been cleared.”

Villagers were also seen clearing snow from rooftops to prevent collapses of houses.

Ashfaq Ahmad from the remote village of Dandran in D H Pora said, “There is a high risk of house collapses, so we have to clear the rooftops regularly.”

Most of the Kulgam district also plunged into darkness as the snowfall damaged power infrastructure.

Basit Ahmad of Kulgam town said, “Electricity was snapped on Friday. Usually, the town gets surplus power during snowfall as rural areas are cut off, but this time it’s different. If this is the power scenario in the main town, imagine the plight of far-flung areas where infrastructure has suffered significant damage.”

The twin districts of Shopian and Pulwama also reported heavy snowfall.

In Shopian, higher reaches including Sedow, Dobijan, and Hirpora recorded up to 3 feet of snow, while low-lying areas like Shopian town saw 20 inches.

Similarly, upper areas of Pulwama, including Sangawani and Achagoze received 22 inches of snow.

Peer Ki Gali along the Shopian-Rajouri Mughal Road accumulated over 4 feet of snow.

Many villages in these districts faced power outages and disrupted water supplies.

Rashid Ahmad of Loosedenav village of Pulwama said, “Our area has been without electricity since Friday evening.”

Officials from the R&B Department’s Mechanical Division said that snow-clearing machines were deployed across all districts to remove snow from inter-district and link roads.

However, residents were still seen shovelling sidewalks and alleyways.

With most people preferring to stay indoors, business establishments remained shut, adding to the woes of the region’s residents.

Sinthan Top and Margan Top recorded 4 feet of snow, Peer Ki Gali, Baltal, D K Marg and Hirpora 3 feet, Daksum 2.5 feet, Pahalgam 2 feet, Shopian and Kulgam 1. 5 feet, and Pulwama and Anantnag 1 foot.