Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, Jan 20: As the Meteorological Department has predicted another spell of snowfall this weekend, administration is getting ready to ensure that this time around people don’t face the problems which they witnessed during the first spell of snow.
The MeT has predicted the intensity of the snowfall won’t be that severe but it’s likely to disrupt the normal life. “The first snow spell caught Road and Buildings Department and Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) napping as both failed to clear the snowbound lanes and roads. The only department which led from the front was the Power Department,” an observer told Precious Kashmir.
It’s in place to mention here that Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, has made it clear that the SMC is not equipped to clear the city roads. “Those who wonder why the SMC needs snow clearance machines! For 1800 kilometers of motorable lanes in our snow-clearance jurisdiction. Would be really interested to know how 1800 kms of lanes can be cleared of snow manually,” Mattu had written on twitter.
As per the Twitter page of Office of Mayor of Srinagar, the SMC GIS team had measured the total lane network in Srinagar as 2,111.88 km of which 1773.34895 km accounting for ninety percent were motorable while the remaining lane length of 338.54995 km was non-motorable.
An analyst said, “The last spell of snowfall taught many lessons. The snowfall is a regular feature during winters in Kashmir and there is nothing unusual about it. The Power Department has shown the way and one hopes that other departments will follow the suit.”
“The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has been a cause of concern since the winter has commenced. In first 20-days of this month the highway has remained closed for more than 10-days and it had led to shortage of essentials in the Valley. One hopes this time around there are enough stocks to cater to the needs of the people as for the past few days thousands of trucks carrying essentials have reached Kashmir,” the observer added.
An official said, “The official machinery has been geared up and we are hoping that the forthcoming spell of snowfall won’t disrupt the normal life. As far as the snow clearance is concerned a few private players have been roped in to ensure that the snow that gets accumulated is cleared without any delay. The leaves of staff members who bare associated with the essential services have been cancelled and all the preparations have been made well in advance. People need not worry.”
Another snow spell in offing, admin gears up to handle weather vagaries
