Winter Has Its Own Pros And Cons For Kashmiris

This winter has so far turned out to be very harsh in Kashmir. The Valley has experienced successive heavy snowfall since beginning of November, throwing life out of gear: electricity has been erratic, traffic movement has been affected, more so along Jammu-Srinagar highway and the flights have recurrently been grounded. For seven days since December 6, no flights operated from Srinagar Airport, leaving thousands of people stranded.

The new J&K administration under Lieutenant Governor Girish Chander Murmu has struggled to deal with the successive snow fury. During first snowfall on November 6, the administration took days to clear roads of snows and electricity also took several days to restore.

In Kashmir, the response to a snowstorm is always a major test of the responsiveness of any administration. Considering the fact, the winter in Kashmir is harshly cold, the local governments are supposed to be not only prepared for sudden weather challenges but also once faced with the challenge address it in the shortest possible time.

But for all the hardships it creates for the people, the snowfall in Kashmir is a boon for tourism. It is expected to bring holidaymakers back to the Valley. But this hasn’t happened so far. At 8,960 feet, Gulmarg, Kashmir’s wonderland of snow, has fewer tourists to serve. According to the tourism department, the occupancy of hotels in the famous hill resort has steeply fallen, a rarity in this season.

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