Men, machinery on ground to minimise disruptions in Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Admin

The Srinagar administration including all departments concerned was on its toes all through Tuesday as heavy snowfall battered the district, an official statement said.

It said huge numbers of men and machineries of snow-clearance and power departments were on the ground as part of a massive response mechanism activated across Srinagar in efforts to ease disruptions to essential services resulting from the snowfall.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary was himself out monitoring the response mechanism.

He visited all Tehsils of the district to inspect the response mechanism and to take firsthand assessment of requirements surrounding essential services and supplies thrown out of order as a result of the snowfall.

He held on-road meetings with officers and officials in each Tehsil reviewing the status of snowclearance and restoration of affected services.

He directed for round-the-clock efforts for as long as required while appreciating the exceptional hard work of departments concerned and their men in dealing with this challenging situation that has thrown life out of gear. Speaking on the occasion, he assured that round-the-efforts are being made in efforts to minimise disruption to essential services.

The DC informed that 3915 kilometres of linear road length was snow-cleared by 1900 hours Tuesday. He said huge numbers of machineries and men of MED and PWD and PMGSY were involved in the effort in their respective areas of operation. SMC and its men and machines were also was involved in the effort clearing lanes and by-lanes.

Power was another area receiving major focus of the administration in its efforts to minimise disruptions. Of 6500 transformers in the city only 9 transformers were reported damaged during the day for which alternative transformers were dispatched.

23 out of 258 11kV feeders which were reported damaged were responded to promptly by KPDCL teams. All of 36 of 33kV feeders were operational. Curtailments in many areas were necessitated as a preventive measure to avoid loss of life or property.

The water supply system suffered damages at six locations out of which 5 were repaired fully by the evening. It is notable that services to hospitals were functioning normally and no disruption was reported.

Two houses which were damaged in Eidgah and Panthachowk tehsils were sanctioned relief amounts of Rs 1 lakh each.

Appreciating their patience Dr Shahid appealed to the residents of the district to cooperate with the district administration. He assured that all roads and lanes will be cleared and affected services restored as soon as possible.