Jammu-Srinagar Highway Closed After Landslide, Mercury Dips Low Across Kashmir

The 'Chilla-i-Kalan' will end on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).

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New Delhi: The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed for vehicular traffic due to a landslide in the Ramban district on Wednesday, sources told PTI. One person died and another was injured when a truck rolled down into a gorge near Tulbagh at Banihal in Ramban Wednesday night, officials told the agency.

The 270-km stretch, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was blocked by a landslide at Duggi pull near Chanderkote in Ramban, they added.

As a result, many heavy motor vehicles (HMVs) and light motor vehicles (LMVs) are stranded at different points on the highway. PTI reported that men and machinery have been deployed to clear the area of the debris.

An intense cold wave is sweeping through Kashmir as parts of the valley like Gulmarg fall to minus 10.4 degrees Celsius, officials told PTI on Wednesday. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of 1.3 degrees Celsius down from 1.8 degrees Celsius the previous night according to the report.

Pahalgam, which also serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius down from the previous night's minus 2.8 degrees Celsius, PTI reported.

Kashmir valley is currently under the grip of the 40-day harshest winter period known as 'Chilla-i-Kalan' which began on December 21 last year. 'Chilla-i-Kalan' is a period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.

The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy to very heavy snowfall.

The 'Chilla-i-Kalan' will end on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold).