Over 1100 people rescued, relocated from avalanche prone areas in Kashmir. MeT predicts more snow after Jan 18

The intense snowfall across the Kashmir region not only brought cheer among the people but also misery and disruption to normal life. Kashmir witnessed seven avalanches in one week and thousands of people have been relocated and rescued from the avalanche-prone areas while five people lost their lives.

Kashmir region witnessed this season’s heaviest snowfall, especially over the higher reaches. Central Kashmir's Ganderbal and North Kashmir's Kupwara received around six feet of snow leading to extreme difficulties for the locals living in the area. Sonamarg area in the Ganderbal district witnessed four Avalanches in a week resulting in the deaths of two labourers working for the Zojila tunnel. Over 1100 people have been relocated from the Sonamarg tunnel site while 172 were rescued by the Indian army and local administration after an avalanche hit the project camp for Zojila Tunnel.

“There were around 1100 people located there in those areas. Normally we stop all external work during December. No external work was going on, only tunnel work was going on, we were having 1100 people out of those 300 people were directly involved in tunnel work out of which 800 were just located there, they were not doing any work. After the occurrence of these avalanches, 800 have been sent to their respective home, 300 people were still there who were involved in tunnel work, after the occurrence of second avalanche which took place on Saturday, we sent home 172 people,” said V K Pandey, General Manager NHIDCL.

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The work on the Zojila tunnel has been stopped for two weeks and a decision would be taken after a team of experts who predict the avalanches gives a report of resuming the work. Although the accumulation of snow is around five to six feet which makes it look unlikely that work would be started soon.

“Last year we were working throughout the winter because last year there was no occurrence of avalanches. But this year we have witnessed 4 avalanches, this was more severe. So, we have got the direction from the administration to suspend the work for the time being, till the situation improves. At least work is suspended for next two weeks, we are planning to call the experts who can predict the snow avalanches during the end of January. We will take their advice and then we will resume the work. we have all the precautions to start the work,” said Pandey.

The snow has created havoc for the local population as well. The roads are completely cut off from the rest of the districts, especially in Ganderbal's Sonamarg and North Kashmir's Kupwara, where the accumulation of snow has been around six feet. The majority of people living in these higher reaches have shifted to safer locations and people in the hilly areas have been advised to remain vigilant and not venture out during the nighttime.

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These villages in the Ganderbal district are facing a shortage of electricity, water supply and road connectivity. The people are asking the government to open the roads so that the needy and sick people in these villages can be taken to hospitals without any hassle.

“We have a lot of problems in the area, the roads are completely cut off due to snow, issues of electricity and water supply, and there is no ambulance service nor the hospital. The roads have not been cleared as we have more than two feet of snow. We have to shift our sick people more than 20 km to reach a hospital or doctor. Sonamarg villages have been relocated. Due to the danger of avalanches, all those people have been taken out of those places. Electricity is also an issue with hefty electricity bills,” said Irfan Ahmad, a local resident of Gagangir Sonamarg.

The locals from these areas have demanded the government to open all the roads cut off due to heavy snowfall in higher reaches. The power cuts in these areas are longer than eight hours a day and some people said that they can’t even charge their phones.

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“We have a lot of problems due to the fresh snowfall. The roads are not cleared, there is no electricity, and there should be a hospital close by where we can take our sick people. The main concern is road connectivity, Our hospital is 10 km away and we can't move on the roads as they are covered with snow. Government has issued a warning to not venture out in the area, but we only come when we desperately need to, like taking sick people to hospital. If the roads were cleared it would be easy. We also lose our employment due to heavy snowfall. We hardly get electricity to even charge our mobile phones. There is no fire service either. They are over 25 km away,” said Ishfaq Ahmad, a local resident of Gagangir Sonamarg.

The government of Jammu and Kashmir has issued an avalanche warning across the ten districts of the Union Territory. People living in higher reaches have been advised to stay alert. The MeT has predicted another wet spell from January 18 to 25. However, there would be moderate to heavy snowfall from January 24 to January 25. Additionally, keeping in view the snow accumulation and prediction, Jammu and Kashmir along Ladakh have been put on high alert. Hence, the rescue teams have been kept on stand-by to meet any untoward incidents in these areas.

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