Snowfall disrupts life in Kashmir, Beacon clears airport runway

Srinagar: The Kashmir valley received fresh snowfall from Wednesday morning despite the meteorological department having predicted it from January 18. The snowfall led to disruption of road and air traffic to and from the valley.
Major roads were blocked for traffic and the runway at Srinagar airport was also closed by the authorities leading to cancellation of flights.
Officials said the visibility at the runway was low for takeoff of the flights.
Taking swift action, the Beacon authorities with their hi-tech snow clearance equipment continuously cleared the runway off snow since early morning.
“Although the snowfall was not very heavy, but its continuity fused with the low temperature leads to ice formation on the runway that requires continuous snow clearance for the safety of flights,” said Captain Kaushal of 122 RCC of Beacon.
Colonel Mukesh, who was monitoring the overall snow clearance operations said, “Our endeavour was to clear the runway from snow accumulation. But the visibility was low.”
He said the Beacon is putting best of its efforts on the ground to keep the airport free from snow and icing.
“The snow clearance operation was done with full enthusiasm,” he said.