Heavy snowfall leaves two dead in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar/Jammu: Two people were killed and several others injured in incidents of house collapse due to heavy unseasonal rain and snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. The Srinagar-Jammu highway remained closed for the third day.A woman died in south Kashmir's Shopian district Wednesday when a house collapsed because of heavy overnight snowfall.In the Panthal area of Ramban district of Jammu region, landslides triggered by heavy rain killed one person.Half a dozen people were injured at different places elsewhere in the Kashmir Valley due to falling trees.[caption id="attachment_1430669" align="alignleft" width="380"] AFP.[/caption]Life was paralyzed here and in other parts of the valley as heavy snowfall and rain blocked roads, uprooted electricity supply towers and flooded streets in cities and towns.Higher reaches like north Kashmir's Gulmarg ski resort and south Kashmir's Sonamarg hill station recorded four feet of fresh snow.More than three feet deep snow in the Banihal area of the Srinagar-Jammu highway and rain-triggered landslides in Panthal, Battery Chashma and Digdol areas forced the highway to be closed down for the third consecutive day Wednesday.Train service between the valley and Banihal town in the Jammu region was also suspended Tuesday because of snow.No flights could be operated to and from Srinagar Tuesday because of bad weather.Roads were submerged at most traffic crossings and market squares in the city as the Srinagar Municipal Corporation said its men and machinery were working overtime to drain the waterlogged areas.Inter-district road connectivity has also been severely affected as continuing snowfall hampered the movement of road clearing machines.District magistrates of Ganderbal, Badgam, Srinagar, Pulwama, Anantnag and Bandipora said snow has already been removed from the main traffic arteries in these districts.The Met Office forecast improvement in the weather Wednesday onwards."The weather will start improving from today (Wednesday) afternoon. The minimum temperature was minus 0.4 degree Celsius in Srinagar city," said an official of the Met Office.IANS