J-K: Vaishno Devi Shrine receives season's first snowfall

Reasi (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], January 23 (ANI): The holy shrine of Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district witnessed the season's first snowfall on Thursday, covering the Trikuta Hills in a pristine white blanket and transforming the pilgrimage route into a picturesque winter landscape.
Jammu and Kashmir's picturesque Bhaderwah Valley received the season's first snowfall on Friday morning, after a long wait by the residents.
The snowfall transformed Bhaderwah's roads and streets into a white blanket, adding to the charm of the town. Cold weather conditions intensified, prompting residents to take necessary precautions.
Bhaderwah Police and the district administration have issued helpline numbers and advised people to remain cautious, especially while travelling to higher reaches. The hill resort town of Batote in Jammu district also experienced heavy snowfall.
The famous hill resorts of Jammu province-Patnitop, Nathatop, Sanasar and Batote experienced the season's first snowfall, thereby not only ending a long dry or drought season but also bringing cheers to all dependent on the tourism industry, like hoteliers, taxi drivers, mule or horse owners, photographers, shopkeepers and vendors near these tourist resorts.
The people in these areas woke up this morning to see a white blanket of snow around their houses.
As predicted by the meteorologists, it had started raining around midnight in Jammu province, which kept increasing in intensity and converted into snowfall on the higher reaches.
It is believed that this rainfall would not only recharge the hydel project reservoirs, thereby increasing the power generation, which had decreased drastically and also recharge the ground water level thereby reviving the springs and wells or Baoilies which is good for the fruit and vegetable production but also have a good effect on the health of people as it would settle the atmospheric pollution and dust.
These tourist hill resorts would now teem with tourists, especially from Mata Shri Vaishno Devi shrine, who would be eager to enjoy the snow, thereby boosting tourism, which had been in a slump since the Pahalgam massacre in April, followed by Operation Sindhoor and rain disasters.
The influx of snow buffs to these hill resorts would somewhat compensate the losses of hoteliers and other stakeholders and give livelihood to vendors and small businessmen.
However, according to SSP Traffic Police, National Highway, Raja Adil Hamid, in view of ongoing rains and snow, traffic has been stopped at safer locations on NH44 as of now as a safety measure due to slippery road conditions. (ANI)