Fresh snowfall across Kashmir on Tuesday cut off the Valley from the rest of the country for the second time in the past few days, as all flights at Srinagar airport were cancelled and the Srinagar–Jammu national highway remained closed, officials said.
The Kashmir Valley has been receiving snowfall since Monday night, which continued in parts of the region on Tuesday.
The snow accumulation led to the suspension of air traffic, closure of key highways, and disrupted the normal life across the Valley.
Director Srinagar Airport said that all flights to and from Srinagar Airport were cancelled due to bad weather and continuous snowfall at Srinagar.
Officials at the Srinagar Airport said the runway is currently not available for safe aircraft operations.
In a post on X Srinagar Airport said in the interest of passenger safety, all flight operations to and from Srinagar have been cancelled for the day.
“Airline and Airport Authorities are closely monitoring the weather situation and will resume operations as soon as conditions improve and the runway is declared operational,” the post read.
The traffic movement on Jammu Srinagar national highway remained closed. An official of the Traffic Department said the highway is still closed due to fresh snow accumulation between Qazigund and Banihal.
“No vehicular movement shall be allowed from Jammu towards Srinagar and vice versa. Commuters are advised not to travel on NH-44 until the road is completely restored and declared safe for traffic,” the official said.
In addition, the Mughal Road, Srinagar Leh Road, and Sinthan Road were also closed owing to fresh snow accumulation.
The Meteorological Department said that till Tuesday morning, Srinagar city, the summer capital, recorded 3.5 cm of snowfall, Qazigund—the gateway town to the Valley—received 21 cm, Pahalgam recorded 11.7 cm, while Kupwara registered 23 cm of snow.
The ski resort of Gulmarg received the highest snowfall at 31 cm.
Light to moderate intensity snowfall, due to the Western Disturbances, is expected to continue across Kashmir region today with improvement expected from around evening.
Last Friday, Kashmir saw the long dry spell coming to an end with the major snowfall of the season, bringing cheer to locals and tourists. The snowfall, however, caused widespread disruption to essential services.
