Srinagar, February 22
Winter chill returned to Kashmir today as the region was lashed by rain and higher reaches received fresh snowfall, forcing the closure of the vital road in and out of the Valley.

Rain lashed the summer capital and other parts of the region while fresh snowfall was recorded in some parts of the Valley.

An official of the state Meteorological Department said Srinagar received a mix of rain and snow in the morning, while 17.9 mm rainfall was recorded in the city since last night.

The maximum temperature in the city fell to 4.2 degrees Celsius, a drop of more than five degrees from yesterday, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 0.6 degrees Celsius.

In Qazigund, the southern gateway town to Kashmir, the maximum temperature was recorded at 5.7 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature fell to 0.2 degrees Celsius.

The frontier Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded the maximum of 2.1 degrees Celsius, while the minimum fell to 0.3 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Both Kupwara and Qazigund towns received heavy rainfall and intermittent snowfall since last night. Snowfall was also witnessed at Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir where the minimum temperature dropped to zero degree.

The weather department said light to moderate rain and snow would occur at most places in next 24 hours and warned that heavy snow and rain would occur at isolated places in the region.

At the Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir, the minimum temperature fell to minus 5.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Fresh snow and rainfall along the Srinagar-Jammu highway, which is a vital road connecting the Valley with the outside world, forced the closure of the road for traffic. An official of the traffic department said the snowfall at several places, including the Jawahar Tunnel, led to the closure of the national highway.

The official said stranded vehicles would be allowed to move from Jammu to Srinagar on Saturday if weather remains dry.

Kupwara, February 22
Power supply to most of the areas in Kupwara and Handwara towns of north Kashmir was disrupted following fresh snowfall last night. The snowfall also forced the closure of Karnah-Kupwara and Keran-Kupwara roads which were likely to be opened for traffic tomorrow.

North Kashmir received light to heavy snowfall since late last night. Sources said power supply in many areas in Baramulla district also remained affected due to snowfall. Residents of Chowkibal, Lolab, Trehgam, Rajwar, Mawar and Handwara demanded that the power supply be restored at the earliest.

“We have not seen power since morning. Under the garb of snowfall, power officials stay away from duties making people to suffer,” said Tariq Ahmad of Mawar in Handwara tehsil.

A senior power department official said power supply was disrupted after electric poles were found uprooted at few places, including Chowkibal, Lolab and Rajwar in Handwara tehsil.

“Field staff are on the job and supply will be restored to normal by this evening. Power supply in many other areas in the district is normal,” he said.

Several towns in north Kashmir received around 4 inch snow till this evening, while 1 to 2 feet snow accumulated in upper reaches of the district.

An official said at least 3 feet snow had accumulated on the Karnah-Kupwara Road near high altitude Sadhna Top. “It is heavily snowing near Sadhna Top. Snow cutters are clearing the road near Chowkibal on the Karnah-Kupwara Road. We are waiting for weather to improve and snow cutters will be pressed into service near Sadhna Top,” said the official.

Snow cutters pressed into service for the past few days had cleared snow from the road and the road was likely to be opened for traffic tomorrow, he added.

Sources said roads leading to Jadda, Jabri, Upper Methian, Shamas Pora Budwan and Charpoongi in bordering Karnah tehsil were also closed for traffic due to fresh snowfall last night. These areas in Karnah received around 1 feet of snow last night and the snowfall continued today. Power supply in bordering tehsil of Karnah also remained affected due to the snowfall, said the sources.

“It is heavily snowing here and all major roads have been blocked for traffic. The power supply is affected since morning,” said Peerzada Ishfaq Ahmad from Karnah.

Anantnag, February 22
At least three persons, including a woman, were injured after violent clashes broke out between local residents and personnel of the police and the CRPF in Khodweni area of Kulgam district.

Meanwhile, a curfew was imposed in many parts of the south Kashmir region, including Kulgam district.

A source said a protest rally was taken out from Howur Mishpora village after Friday congregational prayers. The protesters clashed with the police and the CRPF personnel after reaching the Khodweni area.

“Three people, including the woman, were injured after the police tried to disperse the protesters by firing tear gas shells,” said the source.

The woman has been identified as Rafeeqa Bano, wife of Abdul Hamid, and a resident of Howur Mishpora village.

She was immediately rushed to the District Hospital in Anantnag, where doctors referred her to Srinagar for specialised treatment.

“A tear gas shell hit Rafeeqa on her head, injuring her grievously,” said a doctor posted at the District Hospital. Two youths, who were also injured during the clashes, were discharged from the hospital after first aid.

The district headquarters and some major towns in all four districts of south Kashmir remained under a stringent clampdown.

In Anantnag and Bijbehara towns, barbed wires were laid at various entry and exits points of different localities and people were not allowed to venture out of their houses.

“We were told to offer Friday prayers in our local mosques and at several places people were not allowed to pray at all,” said a resident of Anantnag town.

Shopian and Kulgam towns, too, remained under curfew, heavy deployment of the police and the CRPF was reported from Pulwama town. Places which were not under curfew observed a complete shutdown.

Srinagar, February 22
Call it an influence of the stardom of Kashmir’s fresh face into the cricket arena of India, all rounder Pervez Rasool or the boredom due to 10 days long curfew and strikes, mohalla (gully) cricket has returned to deserted lanes, by-lanes of residential localities of Srinagar.

Over the past few days, as the Valley saw the turbulence and tension surging, a 26-year-old south Kashmiri, Pervez Rasol hogged headlines all over the county by bagging seven wickets against Australia recently while representing Board XI. Pervez’s success, somehow, lost its flavour amid protests and strikes the Valley witnessed, but has nevertheless made a lasting impact on cricket enthusiasts, particularly the children.

Amidst relaxed curfew and moderate strikes, the city and the outskirts saw local mohalla teams playing cricket against each other during most of the curfew or strike time.

Even in some residential areas, curfew and strikes led boys of each mohalla first forming a local team and then offering to play against neighbourhood teams.

In Civil Line areas (uptown Srinagar localities), where the boys are hardly seen catching up with each other, local cricket tournaments organised by colony residents were the best to kill time.

“Week-long curfew followed by strike was getting utterly frustrating to handle. Confinement to homes took a toll on our mental health. So, we got up to form a cricket team which we had been wishing for long. Perhaps, we never would have been able to play had there been no curfew or strikes due to busy schedules of each one of us,” said Aamir Ali, a bank employee, who is a member of Lions XI, a cricket team from Chanapora, Srinagar.

Aamir along with many of his friends organised friendly cricket matches in each neighbourhood of Chanapora, Baghi-i-Mehtab, Natipora, Nowgam, Hyderpora localities of uptown Srinagar during curfew days (where there were relatively less stringent security measures) which killed their boredom to a large extent. At the time, when SMS, cable television and Internet services were snapped in the Valley for a week, Gully (neighbourhood) cricket seemed the best savior of killing time and escaping mental torture.

However, the boys living in downtown Srinagar areas were not as lucky due to the toughest curfew imposed there as a result of which even their stepping out of homes wasn’t possible. “Cricket is the most often played outdoor sport in the Valley as could be gauged from the fact that we have year-round cricket activities and our boys are doing well at national and international levels. Playing cricket during curfew is even synonymous with 90s or most recently during 2010 unrest when the Valley reeled under curfew for months together and boys had no other option to socialise,” said Saqlain Muhammad, a veteran cricketer based in Rajbagh, Srinagar.

However, the boys living in downtown Srinagar areas were not as lucky due to the toughest curfew imposed there as a result of which even their stepping out of homes wasn’t possible. “Cricket is the most often played outdoor sport in the Valley as could be gauged from the fact that we have year-round cricket activities and our boys are doing well at national and international levels. Playing cricket during curfew is even synonymous with 90s or most recently during 2010 unrest when the Valley reeled under curfew for months together and boys had no other option to socialise,” said Saqlain Muhammad, a veteran cricketer based in Rajbagh, Srinagar.

Srinagar, February 22
Yet again, the long-pending examinations of BA, BSc and BCom (first and second year) Under Graduate (UG) level and Post Graduate (PG) level examinations, scheduled for today were postponed as per the University of Kashmir (KU) authorities.

KU spokesperson, Showkat Shafi said further dates of the examinations would be notified separately.

The examinations of approximately 8,000 students stood cancelled during the last two weeks of curfew and strikes, which had jeopardised the hopes of an on-time academic session to begin in KU affiliated degree colleges and the main campus.

In all likelihood, the students are expecting a delay in admission process of the PG courses at the university, since the examinations are yet to get over.

For someone like Shaima Qureshi, who had scored good marks in Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) examinations and is waiting for the group discussions at KU for her MBA examinations, the wait seems unending.

“I have been waiting for four months now for the admissions to begin. I was hoping that after the examinations of fourth semester (PG) students, our group discussion would be held and the academic session would start by second week of March. It seems impossible now,” Shaima said.

Many other students who have passed their graduation examinations, in the BA, BSc, BCom 3rd year results declared recently, are waiting for the colleges to open so that they could get their degree certificates and apply elsewhere in the country for PG courses.

For them, in the wake of political turbulence in the Valley, pursuing an academic career outside the valley seems more secure.

“I am waiting for the colleges to re-open so that I could get my degree certificates. I have no desire to continue studies here. I am scared that the delay might waste my time if I pursue higher studies. Although, I would not want to leave my hometown but I would have to, in order to have good career prospects,” Imaad Shafi, a fresh BSc graduate said.

KU has already extended the date for last date of receipt of application forms for admissions to UG first year courses from February 20th to March 2 in the wake of the curfew and strikes.

The examinations, as per KU authorities, are being postponed continuously so as to avoid inconvenience to students appearing in the exams.

“Most of the times, the students have faced trouble while commuting. Despite our pleas, the examination admit cards are not accepted as curfew passes, which had led to problems in the past. Therefore, we decided to postpone the examinations till normalcy is restored,” an official in the examination wing of KU said.

Srinagar, February 22
While a decision to run the train up to Baramulla will be taken on Saturday, the train service continues to ply partially from Qazigund to Budgam.

“The train plied normally today between Qazigund in south to Budgam in central Kashmir,” said AK Sharma, Chief Area Manager, Budgam, Northern Railways. “We are yet to get the clearance for running the train up to Baramulla,” he added.

The train in Kashmir has been plying partially since February 18 due to security concerns which have risen in the wake of hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. In fact, the train operation in Kashmir was suspended for nine days after Afzal Guru was hanged on February 9.

Officials said the train services were suspended as the government feared damages to Railway property. In 2010, the train service had to be halted for almost five months due to security reasons and damage to the rail property in various parts of the Valley.

Sources said a review of the situation would be taken on Saturday to decide about plying the train up to Baramulla.

“A decision about resuming the train operation up to Baramulla will be taken in a meeting tomorrow,” said an official.

The trains of Kashmir are yet to be connected with the rest of the country and they ply between Qazigund and Baramulla, a distance of 119 km. The first phase of the train service in the Valley was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 11, 2008.

Srinagar, February 22
A group of 20 girl students accompanied by four teachers from Uri town of north Kashmir was flagged off on a two-week tour to Delhi, Belgaum and Goa under the Army’s Sadbhavana programme today.

The 20 girl students in the age group of 14-16 years and four teachers hailing from remote areas around Uri would return on March 7, a Defence spokesman here said. The tour would facilitate the young budding minds to witness first-hand the “dramatic growth and development” taking place in the country, the spokesman said.

The tour was flagged off by Commander of Kala Pahar Brigade Brigadier RK Singh at a ceremony held near Sridhar Hall at Uri in Baramulla district. The tour members would reach Delhi by train on the evening of February 24 and visit famous monuments and historical places of Delhi, including Red Fort, Qutab Minar, India Gate, Jantar Mantar, National Museum, Raj Ghat and Parliament House.

The group would also meet the President, the spokesman said. Thereafter, they would leave for Belgaum by train and visit Commando Wing, Fort Hooli, Kapileshwar and other tourist places. The group later would depart for Goa by bus and will visit Shanta Durga Temple, Museum, Anjuna beach, Vasco-De-Gama, Panji, Siolim House and Church.

The students will leave Goa on March 3 and reach Delhi on March 5, on their way back to Kashmir.

The tour would be instrumental in providing an insight into the rich and varied culture of the country, the spokesman said.