Srinagar, Nov 10 (Inditop.com) Woollen clothes are out of the trunk, new ‘pheren’ robes are being ordered and, in the absence of consistent power supply, charcoal is being stored for earthen firepots – clear signs that winter has arrived in the Kashmir Valley.
Fresh snowfall in the mountains and incessant rain have made the temperature dip sharply, making the locals reach for their woollen clothes.
On Monday, four feet of snowfall was recorded in the tourist resort of Gulmarg, two feet in Sonamarg and 1.5 feet in Kargil in the Ladakh region.
“There has been fresh snowfall in the mountains and rain in the plains of the valley which has brought down the temperatures considerably,” said an official of the local weather office here.
“The minimum temperature here was two degrees Celsius Monday, but the chill factor accompanying the low temperatures has resulted in the cold wave that is now sweeping the valley,” the official added.
Kashmiris have already started wearing warm woollen clothes and the ‘pheren’ is in high demand.
“I had to pay extra to the tailor to get pherens stitched for myself and the family. The tailors right now are doing a roaring business stitching pherens,” said Bashir Ahmad, 47, a resident of north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
In fact most of the locals are wearing clothes they would normally have worn during the ‘Chilla Kalan’ (the coldest period of winter from Dec 21 to Jan 31).
“I have started putting on the fur shoes which I would normally not do before the beginning of the Chilla Kalan,” said Abdul Rashid, 45, who lives in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
With erratic power supply in the valley, the earthen firepot called the ‘kangri’ still remains the most effective appliance for many to keep the cold away.
“I was fortunate to have bought the charcoal for the kangris well in time this year and since the last two days the entire family has been using the kangris to keep warm,” said Nazir Ahmad, 42, a bank officer here who lives in the Channapora area of Srinagar city.
Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised Kashmiris an additional 500 MW from the central pool this winter, locals are already complaining of highly erratic electric supply here.
“We had been promised uninterrupted electric supply after meters were installed in our locality, but this year we are facing shutdowns and erratic supply for hours despite the promises,” said Nazir Ahmad.
Officials of the power department here blame use of electric heaters and other such appliances for the frequent power failures in the valley.
“The electric transformers installed in different areas get overloaded which is the main reason for supply failures here,” said an official of the electricity department.
As most locals have given up the use of firewood for cooking purposes depending on LPG cylinders and electric heaters, the huge gap between demand and supply has thrown the electric supply systems haywire in the entire valley.
“Even in remote villages the people are not using firewood for cooking now. They either use LPG cylinders or electric heaters. This is a grey area we haven’t been able to address fully,” said a senior state government official.
