Kashmir: Police help vehicles stuck in snow on National Highway

As the winter season approaches the country, snowfall has begun in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and other northern hilly regions of the country as well. On Thursday, the Kashmir Police took to their official Twitter handle and posted visuals of them helping vehicles that are stuck in the snow at the Jammu Srinagar National Highway in Anantnag.

So far, Srinagar has recorded 4.5 inches of snowfall, Sonmarg 08 inches, Pahalgam-4 inches, JawaharTunnel-7 inches, Gurez-1.5 Feet and Gulmarg has recorded around 04 Feet of snowfall. The visuals that have merged from the valley also show the policeman helping an ambulance stuck in the snow.

READ | Heavy snowfall across Kashmir, highway closed

Snowfall at Gulmarg and Sonmarg

With rains continuing in the valley, higher reaches of Kashmir including Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and Kupwara received first snowfall on Wednesday. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night's 5.4 degrees Celsius, a drop of six degrees.

Gulmarg was the coldest place in the newly formed union territory, recording a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius while other weather stations also recorded a minimum temperature hovering around the freezing point, the MET department official said. Officials in Jammu said that upper reaches of Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch, and Kathua districts also received snowfall. In the plains of Jammu, heavy rains continued triggering cold wave conditions.

READ | 4 killed following heavy snowfall in Kashmir

4 dead due to snowfall

According to the officials, four locals including two Indian Army porters have died in separate incidents due to heavy snowfall in Kashmir Valley on Thursday. The two porters identified as Manzoor Ahmed and Ishaq Khan died after coming under an avalanche near a forward post in the Kupwara district. In another incident, an employee of the Power Development Department (PDD) died while trying to restore power supply, which has been disrupted by heavy snowfall in Kashmir, officials said. Manzoor Ahmad, an inspector in the PDD, fell off a pole and died on the spot, the officials said.

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(With agency inputs)