Winter vacation in J-K extended due to bad weather

NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday extended the winter vacations for schools in the Valley and winter zone areas of Jammu division by six days in the wake of inclement weather. The schools will now reopen on March 7, according to an order shared by the school education department said.

J-K minister Sakina Itoo shared the order on X. The winter vacations , announced on December 6 last year, for students up to Class 5 studying in schools in the Valley and winter zone areas of Jammu division were to be observed from December 10 to February 28.

Schools were scheduled to reopen on March 1

For the Classes 5 to 12, the winter vacation were from December 16 to February 28. The schools were scheduled to reopen on March 1. However, in the wake of the inclement weather and forecast of more spells of wet weather till March 3, the government on Friday extended the vacations till March 6.

Overnight snowfall in Kashmir affected rail, air and road connectivity on Friday. Landslides, mudslides and shooting stones were reported along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, according to officials.

While the plains were lashed with rains, the higher reaches of the valley, including the tourist resorts of Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and Pahalgam, received moderate to heavy snowfall. Srinagar, meanwhile, saw light snowfall.