Around 2,000 vehicles were stuck at Qazigund town in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag following the valley’s first snowfall of the season on , Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said. Hill state of Uttarakhand too is bracing for cold conditions ahead.
CM Abdullah mentioned that he has spoken with the deputy commissioner of Anantnag about the current situation, adding that heavy vehicles are being allowed to move and efforts are on to clear the rest of the stranded vehicles.”
In a post on X on Friday night, Omar Abdullah said, “Just spoke to DC Anantnag about the current situation of the road between Qazigund & the tunnel. The icy conditions have caused traffic to back up. The stranded vehicles, in both directions, are slowly moving & where necessary being assisted.”
I drove from Jammu to Srinagar today. It snowed continuously from Banihal to Srinagar. The conditions were quite treacherous. I understand there are around 2000 vehicles stuck between the tunnel & Qazigund. My office has been in touch with the administration in South Kashmir.… pic.twitter.com/i8JOUDt4Fr
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) December 27, 2024
He added that DC was on the spot with his team.
“I’ve instructed him to ensure that vehicles with families & children must be given priority.”
“If necessary arrangements for overnight shelter will be made. The DC is accompanied by an ambulance in case of any medical emergency,” Omar Abdullah added.
Meanwhile , The MeT department has predicted cold wave conditions and heavy snowfall at isolated places located above 2500 metres in the hill districts of Uttarakhand .
A holiday has been declared in all government, non-government schools and anganwadi centres in the Chamoli district in view of the MeT department’s warning.
Additional district information officer Ravindra Negi said that in view of the forecast of heavy snowfall and cold wave by the Meteorological Centre, Dehradun, district magistrate Sandeep Tiwari has declared a holiday in all government, non-government, private schools from class 1 to 12 and anganwadi centers in the Chamoli district on Saturday for the safety of students.
Overcast conditions prevailed in various districts of the hill state, including Dehradun, on Friday, intensifying the chill.
Isolated heavy snowfall and cold wave conditions have also been predicted for Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Tehri, pauri, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar districts.
