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This article was first published 10 years ago

PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

December 31, 2013 19:54 IST

Image: Tourists play in snow in Srinagar on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

People of Kashmir on Tuesday woke up to a white snow blanket as the Valley and its adjoining areas received the season’s heaviest snowfall.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: Vehicles move sluggishly during heavy snowfall in Srinagar on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

The snowfall began around midnight on Monday and continued till late in the afternoon on Tuesday without any let up.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: People walk on a snow covered bridge during heavy snowfall in Srinagar on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

The snowfall threw life out of gear across the Valley as the roads turned slippery making vehicular and pedestrian movement precarious.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: Vehicles move slowly during heavy snowfall in Srinagar on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

The slippery condition on the roads led to traffic disruptions and caused numerous road accidents.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: Srinagar Municipal Corporation workers clear snow on the roads on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

The snowfall closed Kashmir’s lone connecting highway, the strategic Srinagar Jammu national highway, and shut all air traffic for the day as no flights could land here because of low visibility and the accumulation of snow on the tarmac.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: People walk during heavy snowfall in Srinagar on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

The snowfall has led to power outages, further deteriorating the worst-ever power crisis in the Valley.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: A train moves on snow-covered tracks during heavy snowfall in Kashmir on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

Though the state authorities pressed into service snow clearing machines, however, because of the continuous snowfall the inter-city and inter-district transport was highly affected.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: A man walks under snow-covered trees during heavy snowfall in Srinagar
Photographs: Umar Ganie

While majority of the people were adversely affected by the snowfall, it brought cheer to the visiting tourists and people connected with the tourist trade at health resorts particularly at the ski resort of Gulmarg.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: Children play in the snow during heavy snowfall in Srinagar on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

The snowfall was ominous for the people who had planned the New Year celebration in the Valley.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: A man clears snow on the roof of a houseboat on Dal Lake on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

Hundreds of tourists have thronged to Gulmarg on the New Year’s Eve and they are overjoyed as the snowfall opens up their chances of indulgence in variety of winter sports on offer at the health resort which include skiing, sliding, snow biking and Gandola rides.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: Trucks stranded outside Srinagar during heavy snowfall on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

The roofs of the houses had to be cleared of the snow in Srinagar and other towns to prevent them from getting snowed in.

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PHOTOS: Kashmir witnesses heaviest snowfall on New Year's Eve

Image: A snow cutting machine clears snow on the Jammu Srinagar highway on Tuesday
Photographs: Umar Ganie

However, the snowfall added to the charm at the famous Dal Lake where the roof tops of the houseboats had a thick covering of snow.