Moderate to heavy snowfall in Kashmir
Srinagar, Jan 30 (PTI) The seven-week dry spell ended in Kashmir today with higher reaches of the Valley getting fresh snowfall while rains lashed the plains even as the minimum temperatures rose across the region to breach the freezing point for first time this year.
Moderate to heavy snowfall is going on in higher reaches in north Kashmir, that led to closure of roads leading to Macchil, Keran and Karnah, a police official said.
He said Gulmarg skiing resort also received fresh snowfall and three inches of fresh snow had accumulated there till 10.00 AM.
The plains across the valley received light rainfall since early morning, the official said.
The downpour has ended seven weeks of dry weather in Kashmir, which had resulted in problems for elderly and children, while the minimum temperature also appreciated by several degrees at most places.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.2 degrees Celsius, up from minus 1.6 degrees Celsius the previous night, an official of the MET department said here.
The night temperature in Qazigund town in south Kashmir was 0.2 degrees Celsius compared to minus 3.8 degrees Celsius previous night while nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius last night, up by nearly two degrees, the official said.
Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius against minus 3.4 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The official said the night temperature in Pahalgam, the famous health resort which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, settled at a low of 1.2 degrees Celsius against minus 2.3 degrees Celsius previous night.
Gulmarg, the famous skiing resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius against minus 5.6 degrees Celsius previous night.
It was the coldest recorded place in the valley last night.
The mercury in Kargil town, in Ladakh region, remained unchanged at minus 15.0 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said Kargil continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state.
The nearby Leh town was the second coldest as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 11.9 degrees Celsius up two degrees from previous night.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chillai-Kalan, a 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and the temperature drops considerably.
It ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in the valley.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
