A teacher and a student were among three persons killed while 50 others injured when a school bus carrying students on a picnic trip plunged into a gorge near Gulmarg tourist resort in Kashmir's Baramulla district on Wednesday.
Christmas was celebrated across the country on Saturday, but the festivities were low-key for the second year in a row due to Covid, with churches and other events witnessing lower footfalls, people avoiding large get-togethers and the administration in some areas imposing certain curbs.
The famous tourist resort of Gulmarg experienced fresh snowfall while Srinagar and other parts were lashed by rains under the impact of western disturbance
Infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir is on the rise, with nearly 100 terrorists sneaking into the Valley this year from across the Line of Control taking routes, including those chosen by Pakistani raiders in 1947, to move towards south, which has emerged as the epicentre of militancy.
About 10 inches of snow had accumulated on ground around Jawahar Tunnel areas, but the real problem is continuous landslides and shooting of stones triggered by incessant rains in Ramban sector which is hampering the efforts of early restoration of the highway.
The terrorist, identified as LeT's Asif Maqbool Bhatt, was killed in a brief encounter in Sopore in the valley's Baramulla district, police said.
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The all-time low recorded in the month of December in Srinagar is minus 12.8 degrees Celsius on December 13, 1934.
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Gen Raju said Pakistan was "not happy" with the peaceful situation in the valley.
On December 7, 1990, Srinagar had recorded a low of minus 8.8 degrees Celsius.
Fresh snowfall was recorded in the higher reaches of Kashmir overnight while the plains received rains, even as the mercury stayed above the freezing point at most places.
Some stunning glimpses of Kashmir's first snowfall
A top police official said that Pakistan is trying to infiltrate terrorists along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir even during the winters when most of the passes and mountainous areas along the border are covered in heavy snow.
Kashmir remained cut off from rest of the country for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday as the arterial Jammu-Srinagar national highway and the Mughal road remained closed, while air traffic was suspended due to heavy snowfall across the valley.
Many political detainees have been released but former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, who were whisked into custody in the early hours of August 5, 2019, are still in preventive detention.
Central government employees can now go skiing in the sylvan surroundings of Gulmarg or rock climbing in Manali, all while enjoying a special casual leave granted by the government which will also bear the expenses for their outing.
Army led the tables with seven gold, three silver and six bronze medals at the National Winter Games in Gulmarg.
The nearly three month long dry spell had created an acute water and power crisis in the state, as the levels of Jhelum and all other water bodies had been reduced drastically. The power and water supply departments had started cutting down on supplies and were preparing for the worst, in case rains or snowfall failed to break the dry spell.
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The town will observe a complete shutdown on Friday.
"There was no deviation from the Standard Operating Procedure. The weather suddenly turned bad and strong winds caused the uprooting of a tree that fell on the cable," Director, Tourism, Mehmood Shah said.
Pakistani troops continued breaching the ceasefire along the LoC for the fourth successive day on Saturday by resorting to unprovoked firing and shelling, while two persons have been injured and several houses damaged in Jammu region overnight due to the violation.
For the fourth consecutive day, Monday, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained closed for traffic in the wake of landslides at some places, even as higher reaches in Kashmir received fresh snowfall overnight.
Upper reaches of the Kashmir valley including the famous tourist resort of Gulmarg received season's first heavy snowfall on Friday. Mukhtar Ahmad reports.
Tourists in Jammu and Kashmir were in for a pleasant surprise on Sunday as the upper reaches of the valley received the season's first snowfall.
Famous Dal Lake and other water bodies froze partially as Srinagar city, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, witnessed the coldest night of this winter with mercury plunging to minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.
The field intelligence units of the Army coupled with inputs comprising HUMINT (human intelligence) and TECHINT (technical intelligence) indicate that around 300 terrorists, mainly of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), are waiting across the border to sneak in, officials said, citing reports from Srinagar collated in the national capital.
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Pahalgam and Gulmarg were the only recorded places in the Valley where the mercury was below the freezing point.
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Just as Kashmir valley was ready and waiting for a pleasant spring after a long and harsh winter, it seems to have been struck with heavy snowfall, throwing life completely out of gear.
"Unprecedented snow gripped the frontiers in Uri and Gulmarg sectors making it difficult for jawans to move out of their barracks. This is the heaviest snowfall recorded in 43 years," officiating corps commander Maj Gen R S Mehta said.
The high hills of Himachal Pradesh received snowfall leaving tourists delighted.
Rapid economic growth has made full integration of the North-east with the mainstream look possible. The same must happen in Kashmir.
It still isn't too late to plan your first trip of the year! Anita Rao-Kashi draws up this list.
The 434-km Srinagar-Leh National highway was closed for traffic as high altitude areas of Kashmir Valley, including the famous ski resort of Gulmarg, experienced the first heavy snowfall of the season, officials said.
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