Srinagar, Jan 6 (UNI) Normal life remained crippled for the second successive day on Wednesday in the summer capital, Srinagar, and other parts of Kashmir valley due to moderate to heavy snowfall since Sunday, disrupting power supply and road connectivity.

Several areas in the valley, including Srinagar, plunged into darkness while the public and private transport remained off the snow-bound roads since Tuesday afternoon, exposing authorities, who despite tall claimed have not been able to clear snow from many main roads, besides interior roads and bylanes. People had to rely on old means of heating, including Kangri, as electricity was snapped from many areas due to damage to power transmission lines.

A number of roads in Srinagar, including at Safakadal, Malik Sahab and Nawakadal in downtown, Nowgam, Natipora, Budshah Nagar, Aazad Basti in uptown Srinagar saw no snow clearance operation till 1300 hrs.

However, snow was cleared from some main roads, particularly in civil lines, which witnesses VIP movement. “Now the administration has started to clear snow from main roads, but even then, we will not be able to driver our vehicles because about 1 to 1.5 feet of snow has accumulated in the interior roads and bylanes. The administration, despite tall claims, has not been able to tackle the situation that has arisen due to snowfall,” Adnan Ayoub, a resident of Budshah Nagar, told UNI.

He said snow clearance operation to clear the main road of his area was started at around 1530 hrs. “Now that the skies have cleared, the snow will freeze as the mercury during the night will dip considerably. Once the snow freezes, it will be very dangerous for the people to walk over it as there are chances that they will slip and hurt themselves,” he added.

Similar reports are coming from other parts of Kashmir valley, including Ganderbal, Budgam in central, Baramulla, Bandipora, Kupwara in north and Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama in south Kashmir.
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