Snow clearance work stretched till late-night to restore connectivity in Shopian

Shopian, Jan 25: Amid heavy snowfall, the district administration in south Kashmir’s Shopian district is making sustained efforts to restore road connectivity and essential services, officials said on Saturday.

The plains of Shopian received more than 3.5 feet of snow on Friday, while higher-altitude areas, including Heerpora along the historic Mughal Road, recorded over four feet of snowfall, disrupting normal life and transport across the district.

The unusually heavy snowfall slowed clearance operations, with snow-clearing teams working late into the night to reopen snowbound roads and restore electricity and other utilities, officials said.

According to the district administration, 19.65 km of the 20.85 km classified as Priority-I roads — which include key arterial routes — had been cleared. Of the 24.92 km of Priority-II roads, which connect interior areas, 15.22 km had been cleared so far. Officials said operations were being hampered by snow sliding off rooftops onto roads, forcing repeated clearing of already opened stretches.

“Snowfall from rooftops along road corridors has made clearance operations challenging, but teams are continuously working to restore full connectivity,” an official said.

The administration said efforts were also underway to clear link and interior roads to ensure access to remote habitations. Power supply was largely restored, with officials saying around 96 per cent of electricity feeders in the district had been made operational despite damage caused to power lines by the weight of snow.

The district is traditionally known for receiving heavy snowfall. However, officials said the district had not experienced snowfall of this intensity in recent years, making the latest spell particularly challenging.

“The administration was fully prepared in anticipation of snowfall, and men and machinery were deployed to minimise disruption,” an official said, adding that additional snow-clearing equipment had been mobilised to speed up restoration work. IMD officials urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, especially in high-altitude and avalanche-prone areas, until conditions improve.

The district administration said restoration work would continue until all roads and services were fully restored .