J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Heavy snowfall hits normal life, 5,000 stranded
Srinagar, February 8
The Kashmir Valley today remained cut off from the rest of the country for the second consecutive day after the season’s heaviest snowfall snapped electric and telecommunication lines and road and air links, severely affecting normal life and stranding about 5,000 people.

Overwhelming children play with snow on a Srinagar street on Friday. — PTI photo

Hurriyat ready for talks
New Delhi, February 8
Hurriyat Conference today said while its doors for negotiations with the Centre were still open, the amalgam was firm over the formation of an impartial election commission, which would hold polls in entire Jammu and Kashmir in four phases and elect people’s representatives. 

Heavy snowfall hits normal life, 5,000 stranded

Srinagar, February 8
The Kashmir Valley today remained cut off from the rest of the country for the second consecutive day after the season’s heaviest snowfall snapped electric and telecommunication lines and road and air links, severely affecting normal life and stranding about 5,000 people.

The snowfall, the heaviest in eight years, plunged the Valley in darkness snapping electric wires. Telecommunication links with the rest of the country were cut off for nearly six hours, official sources said.

The 300-km-long Jammu and Kashmir National Highway, the only surface link between the Valley and the rest of the country remained closed for traffic as one to five feet of snow accumulated at a number of places stranding around 5,000 people in about 850 vehicles, they said.

The Border Roads Organisation which started clearing the roads of the snow could not succeed due to fresh snowfall this afternoon at Patnitop, Batote, Banihal and Qazigund.

Air links with the state also remained suspended with the runway at Srinagar airport buried under snow. Airport sources said efforts were on to clear the runway and the Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Delhi flights may resume later today. PTI

Hurriyat ready for talks

New Delhi, February 8
Hurriyat Conference today said while its doors for negotiations with the Centre were still open, the amalgam was firm over the formation of an impartial election commission, which would hold polls in entire Jammu and Kashmir in four phases and elect people’s representatives. 

“We are open to negotiations which are aimed at resolving the Kashmir dispute and not discussing the issue as a law and order problem as desired by the Centre’s interlocutor K. C. Pant,” founder Chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, told PTI here.

He said if the Centre was serious about resolving the dispute once for all with concerted efforts, the Hurriyat Conference would be much happy to join a negotiation.

Asked about the formation of a new “election commission,” the Mirwaiz said, “Efforts are going on and we have been discussing the issue with some of the diplomatic corps here.”

The Hurriyat team comprising him and Abdul Gani Lone have been meeting a host of European Ambassadors and High Commissioners besides interacting with the diplomatic staff of Britain, France and Germany.

Mirwaiz also attended a breakfast meeting with Pakistani High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi today. “It was a routine meeting where we discussed the present situation in the valley and formation of election commission,” the former Chairman said.

Meanwhile, Mirwaiz denied reports of any participation by Hurriyat leaders in the state assembly poll, scheduled to be held later this year. PTI