Gear up for winters

Jammu and Kashmir has recorded the first snowfall amidst the winter arrival, bringing down the mercury in the Union Territory. The fresh spell that broke a prolonged 50-day dry spell here has led to the closure of several roads including Mughal Road, Bandipora to Gurez highway as well. However, the closure of the roads is an indication that the government in Jammu and Kashmir needs to remain alert and in a prepared and ready to tackle the situation that would likely emerge more frequently in the winter season. What remains to be done is to stay well-prepared for the seasons and make the men and machinery ready to ensure there is no disruption of the traffic along the major roads. The Srinagar-Jammu highway, only road connecting people of Kashmir with rest of the country, though has been constructed, but it has also been witnessing frequent closures at some vital junctures, which needs to be taken care of ahead of the fresh wet spell so that the people are not pushed to the wall by forcing them to remain stuck for hours together as witnessed in the past. Since there are more hopes on the newly elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, the concerned departments must be directed to prepare themselves ahead of the winters so that the people are not pushed to face hardships. The fresh and major snowfall would be a testing time for the government to send a message whether it was ready to end the sufferings of people or only the people are being befooled by making statements public.