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Snowfall

Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh: Heavy snow disrupts life in India’s Himalayan states (with photos)

Heavy snowfall has impeded daily life across many parts of northern India.

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KATHMANDU: Heavy snowfall has impeded daily life across many parts of northern India.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, a thick blanket of snow covered most of the region, snapping power supplies and causing delays in road, rail and air travel.

A woman walks towards her houseboat during snowfall in Srinagar. Kashmir valley was cut off from the outside world, with all flights to and fro Srinagar airport getting canceled and the national highway being shut off due to heavy snowfall on Monday morning.
People have been braving the snow with layers of warm clothes and umbrellas (GETTY IMAGES)

Authorities have issued avalanche warnings for 10 districts in the region.

A man with an umbrella walks along a snow covered road during snowfall in Srinagar. The Kashmir valley received a fresh snowfall which disrupted the normal life of people. Flight operations, surface transport, and routine activities of life came to a grinding halt. Electricity was also affected in many areas of Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday issued an alert of a high-danger level avalanche in several regions in the next 24 hours.
GETTY IMAGES

The famous Dal Lake in the main city of Srinagar has been partially frozen with snow covering the famed shikara or houseboats.

A boatman clears snow from his boat in Dal Lake after a snowfall in Srinagar on January 14, 2023.
The region received several inches of snowfall over Sunday and Monday (GETTY IMAGES)

The weather also derailed the travel plans of several Congress party leaders, who were in the region as part of their 4,000km (2,485-mile)-long “unity march” across India, which ended in Kashmir on Monday.

Priyanka Gandhi, general secretary of Indian National Congress and sister of leader Rahul Gandhi addresses the crowd (not pictured) as it snows on the last day of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' march in Srinagar
Senior Congress party leader Priyanka Gandhi addressed crowds on a chilly morning in Kashmir (GETTY IMAGES)

On Tuesday, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had tweeted that several MPs would not be able to attend the budget session in parliament after all flights from Srinagar had to be cancelled due to inclement weather.

Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Former chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah, general secretary of Indian National Congress Priyanka Gandhi and former Chief Minsiter of Jammu & Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti attend the public rally as it snows during the last day of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' march in Srinagar.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra ended in Srinagar on Monday (GETTY IMAGES)

In the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, authorities shut some key highways and roads after incessant snowfall threw normal life out of gear.

JANUARY 20: A woman through the snow covered road during fresh snowfall near Jakhoo, on January 20, 2023 in Shimla, India.
The tourist city of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh has also received snowfall (GETTY IMAGES)

A similar situation prevailed in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand, where traffic on key national highways was disrupted for hours on Tuesday after snow accumulated on the roads.

The weather department has predicted that conditions may improve from Wednesday morning.

People carry vegetables and other food items as they board a horse driven carriage after fresh snowfall in sopore District Baramulla Jammu and Kashmir India on 30 December 2022
The snowfall has made roads slippery, increasing the risk of accidents (GETTY IMAGES)

-BBC