Biting cold: ‘Desist from stepping on frozen Dal’

Srinagar, Dec 29: Severe cold wave triggered by the bone-chilling night temperatures continued unabated in Kashmir and Ladakh on Saturday.
There was no relief from the intense cold in the regions as the temperature dropped several notches below the freezing point.
The persistent dropping of the temperatures has frozen banks and interior parts of Dal Lake and other water bodies in the valley.
On Saturday, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Syed Abid Rashid, issued an advisory asking people, especially the youth, not to walk or play over the frozen parts of Dal stating that any such move could prove dangerous.
“Due to subzero temperatures in Srinagar, parts of Dal Lake freeze these days, especially at the banks and interiors. It is dangerous and potentially life threatening to walk/play on it. It is requested to take note and desist from any such action,” read the advisory.
Temperatures in Kashmir have plummeted many notches below freezing point with the summer capital witnessing coldest nights in decades along with shortage of drinking water as most of the water supply plants freeze during the night.
An official of the Met department said the minimum temperature in Srinagar on Saturday was minus 7.2 degree Celsius.
In Pahalgam, the temperature was minus 8.3 degrees Celsius while it was minus 7 in Gulmarg.
At minus 21.1 degree Celsius, Drass recorded the night’s lowest temperature, and the town was the coldest in Jammu and Kashmir.
Even the maximum temperature recorded in Drass on Friday did not rise above the freezing point as it settled at minus 5.5 degrees.
Leh recorded minus 17.5 degree and Kargil minus 16.7 degree as the minimum temperatures.