Fresh snowfall throws life out of gear in B’la upper reaches

Baramulla, Jan 25: Scores of villages in the upper regions of the Baramulla district in north Kashmir were cut off from the district headquarters, due to the fresh snowfall on Wednesday
Locals said that over a dozen villages in Uri as well as a few in upper Rafiabad have been affected due to the fresh snowfall throwing life out of gear.
The residents of Uri told Rising Kashmir over phone that the upper reaches have recorded significant snowfall since the last few days.
“With a significant snowfall over the past few days, life came to stand still in several areas of the Uri,” Manzoor Ahmad, a resident of Chotali in Uri said.
“The traffic movement also remains suspended for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.”
He said that several villages including Churanda, Batgran, Banali, Badian, Chotali, Gohalan, Mothal, Hathlanga, Barnate, Maidanan were affected due to the snowfall with locals facing a lot of hardships.
“Since four days ago, the area has been totally cut off from the main town. We cannot purchase necessities from the Uri market,” he added.
Irshad Ahmad, a resident of Churanda told Rising Kashmir that the road connectivity restoration in the upper belt of Uri is the responsibility of department PMGSY but they have failed so far in snow clearance.
“Since the department has never been prompt in clearing snow from the roads, the locals are frequently forced to endure great hardships when it snows,” he added.
The scenario is the same in some areas of the Baramulla district’s Kandi belt which received heavy snowfall.
The residents of Laridora and the nearby villages expressed dissatisfaction about the blocked roads in their region as a result of the significant snowfall.
Several passengers from Narvaaw belt of Baramulla were left stranded in Baramulla town after heavy snowfall cut off the area with the district headquarters.
The upper reaches of the Rafiabad belt also experienced considerable snowfall, disrupting daily life.
The Tangmarg area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district also received over one feet of fresh snow thereby watching a surge in tourist influx especially in Gulmarg.
An official from Gulamrg said that the Gulmarg-Tangmarg Road was made motorable despite heavy snowfall in the area.
An official of Mechanical Division in Gulmarg said that snow clearance operation was undertaken on a war footing basis in tourist destination Gulmarg for joyful sightseeing of Tourists.
Meanwhile, the Executive Engineer Mechanical Division Baramulla Mohammad Maqbool told media that the department has deployed enough machines to ensure that road connectivity doesn’t get affected.
“We have 24 snow clearance machines available at Control room Baramulla. Out of 24 machines, 15 have been deployed in the areas like upper belt of Rafiabad and Kandi block which received heavy snow. The department is ready to deal with any eventuality,” he said.
He further appealed to the locals not to park their vehicles on the road which creates hindrance for snow clearance staff.