The Sonamarg-Zojila road in Jammu and Kashmir was been briefly closed after the upper reaches of Zojila in the Ganderbal district of Central Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Tuesday morning. Commuters on this road were left stranded for about an hour due to this. According to Kargil police, the road was closed from both directions due to fresh snowfall and slippery roads at Zojila Pass. Vehicular traffic resumed about an hour after the suspension, as weather conditions improved across the Zojila region.
Fresh snowfall was reported at several places of Zojila Pass including Minamarg, Bajri Nallah Shaitani Nallah, following which the road was closed as a precautionary measure, said officials.
"Due to fresh snowfall & slippery road conditions at Zojila Pass of NH-1D traffic has been stopped at Minamarg & Sonamarg till weather improves," Kargil Police said in a post on X earlier in the day.
"Due to improvement in weather conditions across Zojila, traffic has now been released from Minamarg towards Srinagar," announced the police in another post.
Snowfall in Gulmarg
In late September, Jammu and Kashmir’s Gulmarg witnessed its first snowfall of the season in the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas. The snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir and rains in the plains have ended a prolonged dry spell and brought down the minimum temperature significantly in the valley, officials said according to PTI.
Snowfall was recorded in higher reaches of south Kashmir, including around the cave shrine of Amarnath and Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the officials said.