Kashmir's 'Polar Express': Mesmerizing video shows a train racing through the snow in the Kashmir Valley | WATCH

Srinagar and other plains in Kashmir received the first snowfall of this winter on Thursday, cheering up residents. The snowfall in the plains started late Wednesday evening and continued until the morning.

Snowfall in Kashmir: In what looks like a scene from the Hollywood movie 'Polar Express', a train is seen speeding through a snow-covered landscape in the Kashmir Valley. The picturesque video was shared by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on his official

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

I think it's good!

📍Baramulla – Banihal section pic.twitter.com/WCsMSYKRqd

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 1, 2024

You can see the train moving through heavy snowfall, the first of the season in the Kashmir Valley, which covered the entire landscape with a blanket of snow, creating a magical scene, as if from a fantasy story.

Kashmir gets its first snowfall

Srinagar and other plains in Kashmir received the first snowfall of this winter on Thursday, cheering up residents. The snowfall in the plains started late Wednesday evening and lasted until morning in most places.

“It started late last night as a mix of rain and snow in Srinagar and other adjoining areas in the plains and by morning the valley was covered under a blanket of snow,” officials said.

Srinagar received about five inches of snowfall, Anantnag town four inches, Qazigund nine, Pahalgam 10, Pulwama town two, Kulgam town three, Shopian town five, Ganderbal town two, Baramulla town three, Kupwara town four and Gulmarg 14 inches, the officials said.

Higher areas received moderate to heavy snowfall, they added.

It is the first snowfall of the season in the plains of the Kashmir valley, including in the summer capital Srinagar, which has seen little rainfall in the form of rain so far this winter, officials said.

Snow brings cheer in Kashmir

The Kashmir Valley witnessed a prolonged dry spell this winter, with most of the Chilla-i-Kalan – the severe 40-day winter period when snowfall is most likely and most frequent – ​​remaining dry.

While some areas in the higher elevations had received light snowfall, most of the headwaters areas experienced moderate snowfall at the Chilla-i-Kalan tip.

The snowfall at the end of Chilla-i-Kalan brought cheers from tourists as well as locals involved in the tourism industry.

The Srinagar-Jammu highway is blocked

Thursday's snowfall closed the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway as it was blocked between Ramsoo and Banihal due to shooting stones. The Alternate Mughal Road and Srinagar-Leh Highway are closed for traffic due to snow accumulation.

However, the snowfall brought cheer among the residents.

“Finally there is snow on the plains of Kashmir. We thank God for this blessing,” said Mehraj Ahmad, a resident of the town here.

He expressed hope that more snow will fall in the valley in the coming days.

Irfan Ahmad, a resident of Ganderbal, said the snowfall was the need of the hour for the valley as it was essential for livelihood.

“We witnessed prolonged dry weather. Our glaciers have melted, before the recent snowfall there was hardly any snow on the mountains. Snow is very important for our livelihood. Without this, our water supplies could have dried up and our horticulture, especially fruit growing, could have been affected, and the drought would have led to many respiratory problems. So it is essential that we have good snowfall,” he said

(With PTI inputs)