Srinagar, June 06, KONS: The upper reaches of the valley received fresh and unexpected snowfall over the past 24 hours while rains lashed the planes causing a sharp dip in mercury.
The Harwan hills on the outskirts of Srinagar also were covered by a clearly visible blanket of snow, while heavy snowfall was reported on both routes to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath further dampening the prospects of the pilgrimage being held according to the revised schedule.
Reports from the world famous ski resort of Gulmarg said that the entire belt received rains since last evening.
Similarly, the renowned resort of Pahalgam, the base camp for holy Amarnath yatra, also received rains while Chandanwari, the last motorable destination on the route to the shirne experienced fresh snowfall.
The summer capital, Srinagar, and other plains elsewhere in the valley also experienced rains, resulting in drop in the temperature.
A weather office spokesman said that the minimum temperature in the city was recorded at 10.6 degrees, three degrees below normal, this morning.
However, Kargil in Ladakh region was the coldest with 5.8 degrees minimum temperature while in Kashmir valley Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded 7.6 degrees minimum this morning.
Moderate to heavy snowfall on the traditional Pahalgam and the shorter Baltal rotues to the holy Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas has put the start of the pilgrimage, scheduled for June 15, under a cloud of uncertainty.
The start of the annual pilgrimage may get further delayed because of fresh snowfall since last evening, official sources said
They said about six inches of fresh snowfall was experienced at Baltal, which was still continuing.
Heavy snowfall was experienced on the Baltal-Cave route, hampering the snow clearance operation on the track, which has become more slippery.
Similarly Chandanwari, the last motorable point on the Pahalgam- Cave shrine route, also experienced fresh snowfall since last evening.
Fresh snowfall was recorded at Shehnag, Mahaguns, Pisso top and Panjtherni enroute the shrine. The holy cave shrine and its periphery also experienced fresh snowfall, sources said.
The authorities have pressed hundreds of labourers into service to make way through the snow from Chandanwari to the Amarnath cave.
Due to fresh snowfall and cold, the snow clearance operation was getting affected, officials said.