Heavy snowfall wreaks havoc in Kashmir

SRINAGAR — The overnight snowfall across Kashmir on Wednesday plunged the entire valley into darkness as power infrastructure suffered almost 70 per cent damage while normal life came to a grinding halt.

The heavy snowfall closed all major roads, disrupted air and road traffic. People across Kashmir remained indoors due to huge snow accumulation on roads.

In an exclusive conversation with news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Managing Director of Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Dr Basharat Qayoom said that the electricity load plummeted this morning after heavy snowfall across the Valley as it caused extensive damage not only to the sub-transmission distribution but the transmission lines as well as the grid stations were also affected.

“Soon after the load plummeted, the men and machinery were pressed into the services to ensure early restoration of electricity and by this time, KPDCL has been in a position to build the load back to over 900MWs,” he said.

“We are about to touch 1000 MegaWatts and the KPDCL is trying its best to push it to 1000 plus by this evening,” MD further said.

About damage caused by heavy snowfall, Dr Basharata Qayoom stated, “If we go by the feeder outage, the damage was nearly 70 per cent. Our average load is 1550 MWs. We will be trying to complete the restoration process by tomorrow afternoon except for Kulgam where there is an issue of transmission towers.”

Pertinently, the majority of areas across Kashmir remained without electricity till evening due to the damage caused by heavy snowfall, resulting in suffering to the people.

Moreover, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, P K Pole while talking to media persons said that 20 to 25 per cent of power lines have been affected due to snowfall. He said the divisional administration is working to restore electricity to the affected areas by evening.

In a tweet, KPDCL has stated that the electricity load has reached 934MWs. “With concerted efforts of KPDCL and @JkptclK valley load has reached 934MW, restoration activities are on since early morning,” Kashmir Power DISCOM tweeted.

In a separate tweet, the department has stated that the electricity restoration in Kulgam district will take a few days as two new towers of 132KV Mirbazar Kulgam transmission line feeding grid station Kulgam collapsed.

“Two new towers of 132 KV Mirbazar Kulgam transmission line feeding grid station Kulgam got collapsed due to heavy snowfall, power supply to entire Kulgam district shall remain effected for few days. Inconvenience regretted,” Kashmir Power DISCOM tweeted.

Notably, Kashmir Power DISCOM shared the pictures and videos of its employees, who were seen restoring the electricity in different parts of Kashmir.

One of the officials was seen wading through freezing-cold water, to restore a snapped conductor at Narbal. A video of his hectic efforts was also shared on the official Twitter handle of Kashmir Power DISCOM.

Snowfall: 7 houseboats, 6 Shikaras submerged at Dal Lake, Chinar Bagh

At least six houseboats in Dal Lake and one at Chinar Bagh were submerged on Wednesday after a fresh snowfall across Kashmir.

Official sources told news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that six houseboats including HB New Simla, HB Honey Moon, HB Bangkok, HB Young Marmandie, HB Holly Wood and HB Kings Throne got submerged at Dal Lake.

They said that a houseboat at Chinar Bagh belonging to Fayaz Ahmad Darma, son of Abdul Aziz Darma of Chinar Bagh was partially submerged.

Moreover, several Shikaras got submerged at the world-famous Dal Lake amid heavy snowfall in Srinagar in the early morning hours.

Reports said that at least half a dozen Shikaras got submerged at Dal Lake due to heavy snowfall in Srinagar.

In the incident, no loss of life or injury has been reported, they said, adding that the locals, as well as officials, are on the job to dewater the Shikaras.

Moreover, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad toured Dal Lake areas here to oversee the damages caused to the houseboats and Shikaras due to overnight snowfall.

The Deputy Commissioner, who was accompanied by Additional Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Syed Haneef Balkhi, visited Dal Lake areas via motorboat to inspect the houseboats and Shikaras, which got sunk due to snowfall during the intervening night of February 22.

On the occasion, the DC directed the Revenue officials to assess the damages and furnish the details at the earliest.

Asad assured the affected house-boat owners and Shikarawalas that all possible assistance will be extended to them from the Administration/SDRF Team.

Essential services being restored on war-footing basis: Div Com

Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole Wednesday said that all the essential services are being restored on a war-footing basis for the convenience of the general public.

According to news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the plain areas of south Kashmir received two to three feet of snow while central Kashmir received 1 to 1.5 feet of snow and north Kashmir received 0.5 to 1 feet of snow beside hilly areas received two to four feet snow which affected normal life and services.

Div Com said that the Mechanical Engineering Department completed 70% snow clearance under priority Phase-I while PWD cleared snow from all the roads falling under its jurisdiction.

Besides, Div Com informed that apart from five to six per cent water supply lines which have been affected, all other Water Supply Schemes (WSS) are functional. He said that the affected WSS will be restored soon for which men and machinery have been put on work.

Div Com further informed that no casualty has been reported till now due to the snow and said that all the hospitals are functional while entire medical and paramedics staff is available in hospitals to render their duties and services.

He said all the essential services are being restored on priority and on a war-footing basis.

Meanwhile, he appealed to the general people to keep patient and support the administration to restore affected services.

He also appealed to people not to park their vehicles on the roadsides so that the Mechanical Engineering Department, PWD, SMC and other departments will not face any hindrance during snow clearance.

Besides, he further appealed to people not to throw snow in their lawns on the streets or lanes as it creates difficulties for the people and snow clearing teams.

While showing pleasure for snowfall, he said that snow plays a very important role in prolific yield in agriculture and horticulture which form the backbone of the economy in the valley.

He said a good snowfall is also pivotal for irrigation canals, irrigation systems besides resuscitating our springs which ensure a constant supply of drinking water to various areas through WSS.