In the wake of Srinagar-Kargil National highway being closed at Zojilla Pass due to heavy snow, people in Kargil are facing acute shortage of essential commodities such as vegetable, eggs, fruits etc. As a result of which, normal life has been thrown out of gear.

A local resident, Mohammad Ali said, “They are half dead for six months and there is nobody to listen to the grievances of the people of Kargil. The airport at Kargil is under Indian Air Force and no commercial flights can land here.”

Another resident, Mohammad Jaffer, said that our leaders have failed to take up the matter with the higher authorities so that they are not deprived of civil flights.

A Kashmiri shopkeeper in Kargil Bazaar said that the stock had ended in his shop so he had to return the customers empty-handed.

It is also being reported that the main sabzi mandi is closed since December 2015 after Zojila pass was closed and people have been deprived of fresh vegetable and fruits in Kargil from the past five months.

It is also important to mention that the snow clearance and traffic towards Ladakh experiences hurdles due to dual control of administrations on Zojila pass. The half of the portion of Zojial pass falls in the purview of Ganderbal Administration while half falls under Kargil Administration.

Most of the time the passengers suffer due to lack of co-ordination between the Ganderbal and Kargil administrations. The local as well as non-local taxi drivers said they often face terrible situation in Sonamarg and Drass.

Sources said that snow on National Highway between Srinagar and Kargil at Zojilla Pass will open within a week.

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