Srinagar,05-Jan; Life in Kashmir valley came to a halt on Wednesday as air and road connectivity remained cut off after snowfall in the region.“Due to snowfall on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the traffic movement is suspended and people are advised not to travel,” the regional traffic control department announced.The snowfall also disrupted the air traffic in the region due to low visibility.”No flight operations have taken place at the airport so far this morning due to low visibility,” an official at the Srinagar Airport told The meteorological department of the region on Monday had forecasted heavy snowfall in the upper reaches while moderate snowfall in the plains.On Tuesday MeT issued an ‘orange alert’ in Kashmir saying the prevalent rains and snowfall are expected to intensify in coming days.In view of the impending bad weather, the MET office urged people not to venture out on avalanche and landslide prone areas, unless extremely necessary.“Keep power/light back up( in case of power failure),” the MET office said in the handout while urging motorists to drive “very slowly and in low gear while driving on snow bound area,” the weatherman said in an advisory.The University of Kashmir and the Cluster University Srinagar on Wednesday morning postponed all the exams scheduled for day in view of the inclement weather and ongoing snowfall.In a statement, the controller of examinations at Kashmir University, Prof. Irshad Ahmad Nawchoo said: “All UG/PG/B.ed and professional exams scheduled to be held on Jan. 5 [Wednesday] are postponed in view of the inclement weather conditions.”New dates for the deferred examinations will be notified separately later on, the statement added.The Kashmir police zone on Tuesday established helplines in all districts of the region for people seeking help during an emergency arising due to snowfall.The Kashmir region’s police head, Vijay Kumar, directed all the district police chiefs to keep helpline numbers functional round the clock and render all the required assistance to the needy people.(CNS)
