Snowfall: 17 from Bangalore stranded in Srinagar

BANGALORE: A skiing holiday to the snow-clad mountains of Jammu and Kashmir turned to agony for nearly 20 Bangaloreans and others as regular flights have been disrupted for nearly five days in the Valley. Nearly 17 members of the group were scheduled to return on Monday, but were sent back from the airport owing to the heavy rain and snow in the region.The group had reached Gulmarg on January 8 and has since then faced some harsh weather.Sharath, a city-based software engineer, confirmed to Express that they had to find accommodation for the night as airlines contended that they are not to blame for the cancellation.However, he added that there were assurances of the airlines operating from Tuesday, but it could not be guaranteed as the weather continues to worsen in the region.But the cancellation of the flight on Monday has resulted in the overbooking for subsequent days, leading to a “never ending queue”, Narendra added.There are limited airlines operating and the seats are all booked, even though uncertainty of weather continues, they said. Adding to this, army officials serving in the Valley said airline operators were not willing to risk landing or taking off from Srinagar airport.“Only the MI-17 and MI- 26 helicopters of the Army have been landing and taking off from the airports,” an official said and added that both the helicopters were extensively being used for rescue operations.Though the Jammu airport has been operating, there have been flight diversions to Delhi, officials confirmed.They added that on an average, there were 8-9 flights each operating from Srinagar and Jammu airports. The temperature in the state has been below sub zero for a few days now.According to India Meteorological Department, heavy rain/snow would occur at a few places over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and at one or two places over Uttrakhand during the next 24 hours.Added to this, their website also says that the minimum temperatures in the Valley (Srinagar) could go as low as -21 in the next few days.