In the early hours of Saturday morning, a major fire broke out in many houseboats in Kashmir’s well-known Dal Lake. Three cottages and at least five houseboats sustained damage, according to the officer.
The Kashmir Reader reports that before it was contained, the fire started in one of the houseboats close to Ghat number 9. It then spread to other houseboats. According to preliminary accounts, the fire has caused damage to at least six houseboats. After a large fire in Dal Lake destroyed numerous houseboats, fire services arrived.
Additionally, officials informed PTI that no fatalities were recorded from the event. An employee of the Fire and Emergency Services Department stated that the fire started at around 5:15 a.m. near Dal Lake’s Ghat number 9.
Meanwhile, the incident happened just prior to Kashmir’s tourist season beginning. Staying on houseboats is one of the area’s most well-liked activities. National highways linking the valley with the rest of the nation were closed yesterday due to snowfall in various parts of Kashmir, particularly the upper reaches, and heavy rains in the plains, according to officials as reported by PTI.
Most locations in Jammu and Kashmir are seeing light to moderate snowfall and rain over the upper peaks, according to authorities from the Meteorological Department. The meteorological service also reported that there had been minor snowfall in some plains locations.
The official stated that the popular tourist destinations of Gulmarg, Gurez, Sonamarg, Zojilla Axis, Sadhna Pass, Machil, Pharkian Gali, Razdan Top, Z-Gali, Sinthan Pass, and Margan Top were among the higher altitudes that saw snowfall.
They went on to say that the bad weather caused national highways that connected the valley to the rest of the nation as well as important routes that connected distant locations with Srinagar to close. Landslides near Ramban forced the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the sole all-weather route linking Kashmir with the rest of the nation. Furthermore, officials reported that vehicles were not allowed on Mughal Road, which serves as the valley’s alternative route to Jammu.
According to the officials, snowfall and slick conditions at the Zojilla Axis caused the Srinagar-Leh highway to close for traffic. Due to the snow buildup, both the Sinthan Top and the Gurez-Bandipora route were off-limits to driving.
The MeT office forecasted that the weather will be mostly dry with warmer days from November 11 to November 17.
