End of long dry spell brings cheers in Kashmir
SRINAGAR: The end of long dry spell and snowfall in upper reaches of Kashmir, especially in the world famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, has brought smiles and cheers back on the faces of tourists and the tourism stakeholders in the Valley.
The upper reaches of Kashmir including Gulmarg in north Kashmir, Sonamarg and Doodhpathri health resorts in central Kashmir have been experiencing snowfall since yesterday morning.
Director Meteorological department Kashmir Mukhtar Ahmed said there has been significant accumulation of snow at the upper reaches due to the snowfall.
He said Sonamarg has recorded over 8 inch snowfall while Gulmarg has experienced 5-6 inches of snowfall.
“The Gulmarg and other upper reaches are receiving light snowfall. Another Western Disturbance will hit J&K from tomorrow afternoon and there are chances of heavy snowfall in upper reaches and light to moderate in other places. There will again be light snowfall in upper reaches on Feb 1-2 and another WD will hit upper reaches on Feb 3-4 bringing more snowfall,” Mukhtar said.
The much needed snowfall has brought smiles and cheers back on the faces of the tourists, who till a few days ago were disappointed due to lack of snow at Gulmarg.
A tourist family from Bangalore said they were very fortunate to see and enjoy live snowfall in Gulmarg. “It is marvelous and a lifetime opportunity. It gives a feel of real paradise,” he said.
“We were scheduled to visit Kashmir on Jan 23 but we cancelled the trip and postponed it by a couple of days in view of the Met department forecast. We arrived in Gulmarg on September 27 and we are so thrilled to be here and to see the snowfall. We have never seen such snowfall in our lives. This is awesome,” said a couple from West Bengal.
They said Kashmir is being described as ‘paradise on earth’ and after this snowfall, it (Kashmir) really seems to be paradise. “It is a winter wonderland and everybody should visit this place.”
With the snowfall, the tourists including men, women and children are again thronging to the snow covered Gulmarg and Sonamarg. A tour operator Sajjad Ahmed termed snowfall in Kashmir as vey positive news for Kashmir winter tourism.
“The tourists, who had either cancelled their visits to Kashmir or put it on hold in January are now making enquiries. Since yesterday, we have been receiving a lot of calls from the intended tourists, who want to travel to Kashmir in the next few days to enjoy snowfall in the Valley,” he said.
Sajjad said the tourists flow to Gulmarg and Sonamarg has picked up after the snowfall and the occupancy in the hotels will go up in view of the forecast of snowfall till February 4. There were about 70 per cent cancellations of bookings due to lack of snow in Gulmarg.