By: Rehan Showkat
Srinagar: Mechanical Engineering Department, Kashmir Division, has upped its preparations for winters with the addition of 28 more snow-cutters taking the tally to 210. The department has also kept three heavy-duty snow cutters on standby to meet out any eventuality in case it snows heavily.
Chief Engineer Mechanical Engineering Department, Division Kashmir, Abdul Rasheed Dar said that three heavy duty cutters have been imported from Italy, which according to him, have a clearance speed of 5000 tonnes per hour.
“Previous year we had 182 machines available with us, however we have added 28 more machines to strengthen the fleet”, he said adding more machines are in offing.
“We still have a requirement of special purpose machinery to clear snowfall of four feet and above, for which we have sent a proposal to SDRF and other relevant agencies and we do expect the demand would be fulfilled in a year or two for effective clearance operations”, he said.
“We have distributed the machinery in three divisions which include Baramulla, Anantnag and Srinagar and each of the divisions’ have a sub-division and districts falling in these divisions’ each have a control room”, he informed adding there are around 80 snow-cutters on standby for three north Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara and the rest for other parts of Valley.
“We currently have the best of machinery available which I deem is at par with other countries, witnessing snowfall, but we only are aiming to strengthen the machinery to facilitate the people in a more better way”, he said.
In his message the Chief Engineer urged people not to take roads if there is any forecast or it snows. “It happens that if it snows during night time, we start the clearance early in the morning, but if snows during morning, it gets a bit difficult to clear the snow and as such I would suggest public to restrain from any unnecessary movement on the roads to facilitate the clearance operations”, he said.
“People should also avoid parking their cars on roads, because it becomes a hindrance for us while clearing the snow off the roads”, he said, urging further the owners of residential houses near roads to erect snow stoppers on roof tops to avoid inconvenience during clearance operations. (GNS)
