Srinagar ,February 24, 2022 : After two bright sunny days, Kashmir Valley saw heavy snowfall on Wednesday, which disrupted air as well as road traffic, caused massive electricity outages, disrupted water supply, and sent the government machinery out on the streets and even wading through water bodies.
As per the Chief Engineer, Distribution, at Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Aijaz Ahmad Dar, “25 percent system is down and load has dropped to 400 Megawatts.”
There were some major damages to power infrastructure which included damaging of transformers, falling of receiving towers, etc. But the restoration was started by all the wings of the power department. At one place a PDD official was found to be wading through a water body to repair the damages.
It was reported that in Kulgam two 132 KV towers were damaged at Mirbazar, and electricity supply may remain disrupted for some days.
After power, the second casualty was air transport. Srinagar Airport Director Kuldeep Singh said that all flights of all airlines were cancelled following continuous snowfall. “We had continuous snowfall at the airport. The visibility was only 400 meters,” he said. As many as 41 flights were cancelled, but the passengers will be adjusted in the forthcoming flights in the next available flight, he assured.
The Jammu-Srinagar highway was also closed for traffic due to landslides and shooting stones. Train services in Kashmir were also stopped.
As per the reports, plain areas of south Kashmir received 2 to 3 feet of snowfall while central Kashmir areas received 1 to 1.5 feet snow. North Kashmir areas saw 0.5 to 1 foot of snowfall while hilly areas received 2 to 4 feet of snow, which affected normal life and essential services.
All universities in Kashmir have cancelled their examinations scheduled on Thursday, so has the Public Service Commission. agencies