Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Jan 3: The Srinagar administration has geared itself up following the predictions that Jammu and Kashmir may receive another major spell of snowfall from Saturday.
The authorities are all prepared with snow clearance machines, men and semi-manual machinery introduced by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
As part of the preparations, the SMC, Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department, along with the district administration of Srinagar have expressed readiness to deal with snowfall.
Commissioner SMC Dr Owais Ahmad, said that they are prepared to handle the major snowfall expected from Saturday.
He said snow clearance machines are ready and on standby for operations, with men and machinery on alert in all wards. “We have also introduced semi-manual machinery — the hand blowers, which will be used to clear the snowfall if it occurs, and these blowers are currently in the testing phase,” he said.
Dr Owais said snow clearance operations will be conducted in a phased manner, similar to previous instances, with priority given to major roads connecting schools, colleges, hospitals and other essential services.
“We have identified 5,631 lanes and by-lanes and nearly 1,600 kilometres of road length under SMC Srinagar’s jurisdiction, while the remaining roads fall under the R&B and Mechanical Engineering Departments,” the SMC Commissioner said.
When contacted, officials from the R&B Department said they are prepared for snowfall, with their men and machinery on standby and ready to deal with any situation if snowfall occurs.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar, Dr Khalid Hussain Malik, briefed about winter arrangements ahead of possible snowfall. He said a control room has been set up in Srinagar for 24×7 monitoring. “SMC is in touch with other prominent departments, including the KPDCL, Mechanical Engineering Department, R&B and others,” he said.
Our snow cutters, machinery and other resources are on standby and will be deployed accordingly when needed, Malik added.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah earlier said the government is ready to tackle weather-related challenges. “The last spell of snow provided us with valuable experience. Wherever the work was done well, it will be repeated, and any shortcomings will be addressed this time,” he said. (KNO)
