by Umar Khurshid
Srinagar: A double-storey residential house collapsed after a heavy snowfall in Anzwalla village of Anantnag district in south Kashmir.
An eyewitness said that a double-storey residential house belonging to Gul Mohammad Lone, son of Mohammad Akbar Lone, a resident of Bungaam-Anzwalla village was completely damaged after it collapsed around 3:30 during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, following a heavy snowfall all over the valley.
He said that soon after the tragic incident, the family members of Lone rushed out of the house and took shelter into a nearby house, “though the house has suffered huge damage, but thankfully the family survived somehow, said Lone’s next door neighbour Mohammad Ashraf.
Lone, a labour by profession is survived by three minor sons and a wife. In a similar incident, a cowshed belonging to Shabir Ahmed Mir, son of Ali Mohammad Mir, at Mir Mohalla, Saalia Panchal Pora in Nagbal village of Anantnag district was damaged after the snow was accumulated on the roof of the cowshed on Thursday afternoon.
Pertinently, the valley is receiving a heavy snowfall from last 20 hours and more was predicted by the metrological department of the state. “As the western disturbance persists, widespread snowfall and rain are expected to continue till the Friday morning,” an official from the MeT department said.
The heavy snowfall also disrupted the traffic movement on strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway for the second consecutive day today and air traffic from Srinagar Airport also remained suspended. “The decision regarding the vehicular movement on the highway shall be taken after the snow and other disruptions are cleared from the roads,” a traffic official said.
Following the heavy snowfall, the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) has issued a high level avalanche warning for the higher reaches of seven districts including Islamabad, Kulgam, Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and Ganderbal districts for next 24 hours, while the medium level warning was issued for Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur and Kargil districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Delayed reports also suggest that an avalanche hit the north portal of the Jawahar Tunnel along Srinagar-Jammu highway, resulting in blockade of the one of the tube.
