Srinagar
Three major tourist towns in the Kashmir valley received season’s first snowfall on Friday and the highway to the remote Ladakh region was shut for traffic as the weather department said precipitation will decrease from Saturday.

The season’s first snowfall was received in north Kashmir’s Gulmarg, a meadow resort which is known for hosting skiers during winter, south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and central Kashmir’s Sonmarg.

The light to moderate snowfall over higher reaches of the Valley is the first such precipitation of the coming winter season and has prompted the closure of at least three mountainous roads, including the highway to Ladakh.

The officials said the Srinagar-Ladakh highway, Mughal Road and Kupwara-Gurez road were closed for traffic as snowfall had made them slippery and dangerous for vehicular traffic.

The highway connecting the Ladakh region with the Kashmir valley, which remains shut during the winter, was closed for traffic following snowfall at high-altitude Zojila, Minamarg and Drass. Shahid Chaudhary, Deputy Commissioner of Bandipora district, said the road to the remote Gurez would remain closed till snow was cleared.

The precipitation, which included rainfall across most towns in the Valley, drastically brought the day temperature down as wintry cold gripped the region.

Srinagar, the state’s summer capital, received heavy rainfall during the night which continued intermittently through the day.