Surface links between Kashmir, rest of country remain cut off
Surface links between Kashmir and the rest of the country remained cut off for the second day Sunday due to heavy snowfall in the Valley which has caused a massive power outage, officials said. The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway is closed for vehicular traffic due to heavy snowfall Saturday which has rendered the road unsafe, an official of the Traffic Control department said. Here's more.
300 passengers stranded due to snowfall rescued
A police spokesperson said over 300 passengers stranded on the 294-km road due to snowfall, were evacuated to safety in a night-long operation. Heavy snowfall caused massive damage to the power supply infrastructure in the alley, leading to power outage since Saturday. "We are facing near full power outage but efforts are on to restore the electricity supply at the earliest," an official said.
Supply wires getting snapped at many places: Official
"Against a normal transmission of nearly 1,200 MW, the system is able to transmit only 80 MW due to the damage to transmission lines caused by the snowfall," the divisional administration official said. He said cutting down of trees resulted in supply wires getting snapped at many places while massive foliage hanging over the transmission lines made it unsafe for the restoration of electricity.
Electricity has been restored in several parts of Srinagar
"More than 7,000 employees of PDD are being assisted by other departments to clear the obstructions and repair the lines so that electricity is restored on a war footing," the official said. Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Abid Rasheed Shah said electricity has been restored in several parts of Srinagar while the work was in progress to restore normal supply in the remaining parts.
Power restoration in downtown Srinagar
"Electricity in parts of downtown Srinagar has been restored. We have restored electricity in some parts of the civil lines areas as well," the district administration official added.
