Srinagar:
The Kashmir valley witnessed heavy rain over the weekend which led to landslide and closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
The highway is still closed and hundreds of passenger vehicles are stranded. Passengers complain that no government official informed them about the highway being closed.
The weather office on Sunday warned that intermittent rains with occasional thunderstorms will continue to the lash the Kashmir valley in the next 48 hours, and advised travellers on the Srinagar-Leh and Srinagar-Jammu highways to exercise caution.
"The weather is likely to remain wet in the valley on Sunday and Monday due to a western disturbance," Sonam Lotus, director of the weather office said yesterday.
Western disturbance is an extra-tropical storm system originating in the Mediterranean that brings sudden rain or snow to the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Kashmir receives most of its rainfall due to western disturbances.
Rabi crops in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh depend on the Western Disturbances whose failure often results in damage to the crops sown in the region.