Srinagar, Jan 28: The air traffic was restored at Srinagar airport on Wednesday while Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was partially reopened for traffic after remaining suspended due to snowfall a day earlier.

“Traffic has been allowed from both directions on the highway after the road was cleared,” the officials said.
They, however, said that only light motor vehicles (LMVs) were allowed to ply on the 270-km highway – the only all-weather road link connecting the valley with the rest of the country.
Efforts are underway to fully restore the highway, as clearance operations are being conducted at vulnerable stretches along the road, officials said.
They said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) personnel sprinkled salt and urea on the road to improve conditions for safe driving as parts of the highway were slippery in the morning due to frosty conditions after the snowfall.
Most parts of Kashmir received snowfall on Tuesday that had led to the suspension of traffic on the highway and flight operations at the Srinagar airport.
The flight operations also resumed at the airport on Wednesday morning.
An airport official said flights resumed tomorrow following an improvement in weather conditions.
Meanwhile, the night temperature plunged several degrees below the freezing point at most places in Kashmir on Tuesday night.
Srinagar (at 0.1 degrees Celsius) and Baramulla town (at 0.4 degrees Celsius) were the only places in Kashmir where the night temperature settled above the freezing point.
The tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Sonamarg were the coldest recorded places in the valley, recording a low of minus 9.8 degrees Celsius, an MeT official said.
The Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Qazigund settled at minus 4.3 degrees, while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees and Kupwara minus 0.7 degrees Celsius.
The Meteorological Department predicted generally dry weather in Jammu and Kashmir from January 29 to 31, with skies expected to turn cloudy towards the evening of January 31.
According to the forecast, the weather is likely to remain generally cloudy on February 1 and 2, with light to moderate rain and snowfall expected at scattered to fairly widespread places across the region.
From February 3 to 6, the weather is expected to remain partly cloudy.
In view of the weather conditions, the MeT issued an advisory urging caution among travellers, transporters, farmers and the general public.
Over the past week, Kashmir has witnessed two major spells of snowfall after a prolonged dry period, bringing much-needed relief to several sectors.
The fresh snowfall has boosted the tourism industry by improving winter activity prospects at popular destinations, while also benefiting the horticulture sector by replenishing soil moisture essential for fruit crops, particularly apple orchards.
The Kashmir valley is currently at the fag-end of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, a 40-day period of extreme cold during which night temperatures often drop several degrees below the freezing point, and the chances of snowfall are the highest. ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, which began on December 21 last year, ends on January 31.