KL Report
Srinagar
The 434-km Srinagar-Leh highway was closed for traffic as high altitude areas of Kashmir Valley, including the famous ski resort of Gulmarg, experienced heavy snowfall, officials said on Thursday.
Heavy snowfall along the Line of Control ( LoC) since last evening also prompted authorities to suspend traffic on the roads connecting the border towns of Gurez, Machil, Karnah, Tangdhar and Keran, the officials said.
They said the Srinagar-Leh highway, the only road linking frontier region of Ladakh with Kashmir Valley, was closed for traffic on Wednesday following heavy snowfall.
So far two feet of snow had accumulated on the highway between Sonamarg and Zojilla pass which usually attracts heaviest snowfall during the winter resulting in closure of the road for traffic to about six months in a year, the officials said.
Drass and Kargil towns also experienced snowfall last night. While Drass recorded two inches of snow till this afternoon, Kargil which was the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 5.8 degrees celsius witnessed mild snowfall, they said.
Gulmarg, 50 kms from Srinagar, also recorded 1.5 feet of snow since last evening, bringing cheers on the faces of tourists, who had thronged the resort to experience the snowfall.
