As North India prepares for the onset of summer, high-altitude areas in Chamoli district have been witnessing heavy snowfall since Sunday night. Due to the intense snowfall, the premises of Badrinath Temple, also known as Shri Badrinath Dham, have been covered in a thick white blanket of snow. The surrounding peaks of Neelkanth Parvat and Narayan Parvat were also seen draped in snow, creating breathtaking visuals.
A sharp drop in temperatures has also been recorded in the region, bringing back severe cold conditions in Badrinath and nearby lower-altitude areas.
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Earlier, on January 28, the holy town of Kedarnath Temple witnessed extreme winter conditions, with 3-4 feet of snow covering the shrine and temperatures plunging to -16 degrees Celsius.
Fresh snowfall in higher reaches of Kashmir
Most higher reaches of Kashmir also received moderate to heavy snowfall, while the plains were lashed by rains, disrupting vehicular movement in several areas. The higher reaches, including Pir Ki Gali along the Mughal Road in Shopian district, the Zojila Pass axis, Gurez Valley in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, Sadhna Top in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, and Sinthan Top, which connects Anantnag in south Kashmir to Kishtwar in the Jammu region, witnessed heavy snowfall.
Officials said Sadhna Top received more than 12 inches of fresh snowfall, while Sinthan Top recorded around six inches.
Several vehicles were stranded due to heavy snowfall near Sinthan Top, following which personnel from the police and the army launched a rescue operation on Sunday night, evacuating 214 stranded tourists and locals.
The snowfall has also led to the closure of several key road links in the valley, including the Gurez–Bandipora road, the Sinthan–Kishtwar road, and the Mughal Road, which serves as an alternate route connecting the Kashmir Valley with the Jammu region.
Over 1,000 vehicles stranded in Manali
Meanwhile, more than a thousand vehicles are stranded near the South Portal of the Atal Tunnel in Manali due to sudden snowfall, resulting in large-scale police deployment to conduct rescue operations for the past three hours, the police said on Sunday.
After heavy snowfall at higher reaches in Kullu, approximately 40 to 50 tourists are reported to be stranded at the Jalori Pass. The Banjar police have successfully rescued two dozen tourists, and active rescue operations are continuing to reach the remaining individuals.
Manali's Deputy Superintendent of Police, KD Sharma, said that he is personally supervising the rescue operation to ensure the safe evacuation of the stranded individuals.
Additionally, the police have requested the Border Roads Organisation and other concerned agencies to deploy their teams to the site immediately. The police have requested cooperation from the public during the difficult situation.
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