Electricity back in Kashmir after heavy snowfall

IANS  |  Srinagar 

Power supply was restored on Sunday to 90 per cent of city and most rural areas of the Valley after overnight heavy snowfall damaged transmission towers and snapped surface and air links with the rest of

Hashmat Qazi, the (Electric Maintenance) of Kashmir, said would be restored everywhere within hours.

"Due to transmission failures, our supply was on Saturday cut down to just 80MW. On Sunday we are supplying around 1,000MW. We are facing problems in south areas where some of our transmission towers have been damaged. This will take a day or two for complete restoration."

After Saturday's snowfall, the Valley was plunged into darkness, affecting even Srinagar's major hospitals.

It was the first time the Valley got snow in November since 2009.

Qazi said falling trees also disrupted power supply lines.

Air and surface links between the Valley and the rest of the country remained suspended.

Poor visibility forced suspension of all flights from the airport since Saturday afternoon while heavy snowfall in the Jawahar Tunnel area closed the

Snowfall also hit the and the Mughal Road that connect the Valley with the Ladakh region and Jammu region's district.

Traffic within the Valley too was affected as snow piled up on the roads, making them slippery.

Authorities said nearly 500 people caught in heavy snowfall in Peer Ki Gali on the Mughal Road and the Jawahar Tunnel area of had been rescued.

--IANS

sq/ahm/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, November 04 2018. 19:46 IST