Deputy Chief Minister today visited the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), HMT Srinagar, to take stock of ongoing snow clearance operations and restoration of essential services across the Kashmir Valley.

Reviewing the post-snowfall situation, the Deputy Chief Minister emphasized the need for swift and prompt snow clearance in all affected areas.

 He directed the concerned departments to ensure that all the affected main roads as well as link roads are cleared on priority to facilitate smooth and hassle-free movement of the general public.

The Deputy Chief Minister also reviewed the status of healthcare facilities and instructed that roads leading to all major hospitals and healthcare institutions across Kashmir be cleared immediately. He stressed that uninterrupted and seamless patient care must be ensured.

He further directed that all essential services, including power and water supply, be restored on war footing in all the affected areas.

The availability of essential commodities and supplies in the markets was also assessed.

Emphasizing the importance of coordinated efforts, the Deputy Chief Minister called for close synergy among all the concerned departments to ensure efficient and effective service delivery.

He, later, visited the Mechanical Engineering Department, Srinagar, to assess deployment of men and machinery to tackle post snowfall situation across Kashmir.

He emphasized that all machinery is pressed into service for early progress in the  snow clearance work and  progress of operations on the ground.

The Deputy Chief Minister instructed the concerned officers to keep manpower, machinery and logistics in a state of readiness to mitigate the impact of any further weather-related exigency.

Earlier, the Deputy Chief Minister inspected the ongoing construction work on the Seerbagh–Sempora Bridge, a key infrastructure project aimed at strengthening connectivity for several villages of Pampore in Pulwama district and Chadoora constituency of Budgam district.

During the inspection, he directed the executing agencies to expedite the pace of work, ensuring completion of the project within the stipulated timeline.

Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the bridge is a vital connectivity project that will significantly facilitate movement between the Chadoora areas of Budgam, including Summerbugh, Shilana, Tengan and Seerbagh and various localities of Pulwama and Srinagar districts. He added that once completed, the bridge will greatly ease transportation, improve access to essential services and give a boost to socio-economic activities in the region.