Kashmir hill stations receive first snowfall; tourists flock to celebrate New Year

by IANS |

Srinagar, Dec 31 (IANS) All higher reaches of Kashmir received snowfall in the last 12 hours as the minimum temperature rose above the freezing point on Wednesday, everywhere except Gulmarg ski resort.

Tourists presently in the Valley to celebrate New Year's Eve were thrilled to witness snowfall in Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam tourist resorts. Snowfall on New Year's Eve gave the perfect setting to this year’s celebrations as a pristine blanket of white covered the ground in Gulmarg and other places of tourist interest.

Kashmir at this time was thronged by tourists from different parts of the country, and many of them said they were seeing the snowfall first time in their lives.

All hotels in Srinagar city and Gulmarg are completely sold out, as hotels in Sonamarg and Pahalgam are also witnessing some tourist footfall this winter.

The minimum temperature rose above the freezing point throughout the Valley due to the nightlong cloud cover, except in Gulmarg, where the minimum temperature was minus 3 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar had 2.3 degrees Celsius and Pahalgam 1.8 degrees as the minimum temperature.

Jammu city had 10.4 degrees Celsius, Katra town 10, Batote 8.8, Banihal 5.9 and Bhaderwah 4 degrees as the night’s lowest temperature.

While hills received snowfall during the last 12 hours, residents of central Kashmir, Srinagar and other areas in the Valley’s plains have so far been disappointed by the absence of this season’s first snowfall.

Asked whether the present snowfall in the mountains would suffice to replenish the perennial water reservoirs in the mountains, an earth scientist said curtly, “No, once we have two feet of snow accumulation on the ground in the plains, it is possible to say that the higher reaches would have received four feet or more.

“But, if the snowfall in Gulmarg and Sonamarg is less than a few inches, how can we expect that this would replenish our water reservoirs to sustain us in the summer months?” he said.

The 40-day-long period of harsh winter cold called the ‘Chillai Kalan’ started on December 21, and there has been no appreciable rain/snow so far in Jammu and Kashmir. If the period of Chillai Kalan passes without a heavy snowfall, then horticulture, agriculture, and the drinking water needs of the people could become a big problem in the summer months.