Severe Cold Grips Kashmir, Minus 4.4°C In Srinagar

Srinagar, Dec 20 (GNS): Severe cold wave conditions continued unabated in Jammu and Kashmir as Srinagar recorded a low of minus 4.4°C on Wednesday.
A meteorological department official here told GNS that today’s minimum temperature in Srinagar was down by 0.7°C from previous minus 3.7°C recorded on previous night and it was 2.7°C below normal for the summer capital of J&K, he said.

The severe cold conditions led to choking of water taps as well as freezing of water bodies at many places in Srinagar and other districts.

Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 4.0°C against minus 4.2°C on the previous night, he said. The minimum temperature was 2.4°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, the official said.

Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 6.3°C against minus 6.9°C on the previous night (coldest so far this season) and it was 1.9°C below normal for the famous resort in south Kashmir.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, recorded a minimum of minus 3.3°C against minus 3.1°C on the previous night and the temperature was below normal by 1.4°C for the place, the official said.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 3.5°C against minus 3.8°C on the previous night and it was 1.1°C below normal there, the official said.

Gulmarg, the official said, recorded a low of minus 4.4°C against minus 6.6°C on the previous night and the temperature was 0.4°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir.
Jammu, he said, recorded a minimum of 6.4°C against 5.7°C on previous night, and it was below normal by 2.5°C for the winter capital of J&K. Banihal recorded 5.4°C, Batote 5.0°C and Bhaderwah 1.4°C, he said.

MeT has predicted “generally mainly dry” and cold weather in J&K till December 22.

On December 23, he said, weather is expected to be generally cloudy with possibility of light snow over isolated higher reaches. From December 24-28, weather is expected to be generally dry. “Overall there is no significant weather activity till December 28”. (GNS)

TRAFFIC POLICE HEADQUARTERS, J&K, JAMMU/SRINAGAR

1. From 18-12-2023, 1700 hrs. to 19-12-2023, 1700 hrs., there was slow movement observed on NH-44 due to breakdown of HMVs and poor surface condition of road at Dalwas and single lane traffic at Cafeteria-Mehad, Magerkote, Nachlana between Nashri and NAVYUG Tunnel.

2. Passengers/LMVs operators are advised to prefer journey on Jammu-Srinagar NHW during the day. Please avoid journey during night hours as apprehension of shooting stones between Ramban and Banihal.

3. HMVs Operators/Owners are requested to desist from overloading and carry sufficient fuel during the journey on Jammu-Srinagar NHW. It is further requested that vehicle owners must double-check the fitness of their vehicles and carry sufficient fuel before undertaking the journey on Jammu-Srinagar NHW.

4. HMVs with only 06 and 10 tyres shall be allowed to ply through Dhar road.

TRAFFIC PLAN & ADVISORY FOR 20-12-2023:-

Subject to fair weather and good road condition, LMVs Passenger/Private Cars/HMVs/Load Carriers shall be allowed from both sides on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) viz Jammu towards Srinagar and vice-versa. Commuters are advised to follow lane discipline.

SFs Convoy Movement:-

Subject to fair weather and good road condition, Security Forces vehicles shall be allowed from both sides on Jammu-Srinagar NHW (NH-44) viz Jammu towards Srinagar and vice-versa.

SSG ROAD

Subject to fair weather and good road condition, vehicular movement on Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumari road shall be allowed from both sides viz Srinagar towards Kargil and vice-versa. LMVs followed by HMVs shall be allowed from Minamarg towards Srinagar between 0830 hrs. to 1100 hrs. Similarly, LMVs followed by HMVs shall be allowed from Sonamarg towards Kargil between 1230 hrs to 1530 hrs. No vehicle shall be allowed after cut-off timings. SFs Convoy, plying from Srinagar to Kargil, shall leave Srinagar at 0800 hrs. SFs Convoy plying from Drass to Srinagar shall plan their movement in such a manner so that Civil Traffic doesn’t get disturbed.

Mughal Road:-

Tomorrow subject to fair weather and good road condition, vehicular movement on Mughal road shall be allowed from both sides viz. Poonch towards Shopian and vice versa. These vehicles shall be allowed from Behramgalla (Buffliaz) and Herpora (Shopian) between 1000 hrs to 1500 hrs. after green signal from road agencies.

ADVISORY:-

People are advised to undertake the journey on NH-44 only after confirming the status of the road from Traffic control units as under:-

• Jammu (0191-2459048, 0191- 2740550, 9419147732, 103)

• Srinagar (0194-2450022, 2485396, 18001807091, 103)

• Ramban (9419993745)

• Udhampur (8491928625)

• PCR Kishtwar (9906154100)

Srinagar teen surprises all, develops robotic arm controlled by head movements

Umaisar Gull Ganie

Srinagar, Dec 19 (KNO): In a world where bionic arms are a rarity due to their high cost and limited accessibility, Hazik Hassan Ahanger, a 12th-grade student from Gulabagh area of Srinagar, has developed a special robotic arm controlled by head movements.

Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Hazik said since his childhood, he has been very passionate about engineering and electronic stuff.

“I learned about robotics and mechatronics in the 10th standard and was thrilled by what it can do. I wanted to do something for people with the help of robotics and at that point of time, I saw a bionic (robotic) arm and got attracted towards it,” he said, adding that “I wanted to create a bionic arm that would stand out from others so that it could reach a broader audience and help those handicapped who cannot afford a bionic arm.”

He said that the innovative project took him one-and-a-half years.

He said, “In European countries, an advanced bionic arm costs 30k$-80k$, and in India, a simple bionic arm costs a minimum of 4 lakhs. But the one I created cost me just 1300 rupees, making it ‘The Most Affordable Bionic Arm Ever Made.'”

He said the technology used in today’s bionic arm is called ‘Electromyography,’ in which it senses the movement of muscles or nerves and uses them as signals to control the bionic arm accordingly.

However, the problem with this is that if a person has any movement left in the nerves of their arm or is paralyzed, they cannot use this bionic arm. “This is where my bionic arm stands out, as it can be used by far more people. The one I created simply works on the movement of a person’s head and sends those signals to the bionic arm wirelessly, allowing them to use it even if only their head is left in their body. These movements are detected by a hairband-like device on the head received by the bionic arm, and for this reason, I named it a Gyro Arm.”

On the specifications of the Gyro Arm, Hazik said, “It is very easy to use. For example, if a person wants to close their bionic hand, they just have to tilt their head forward; to open it, they tilt their head backward from a straight position. To rotate it right or left, they simply rotate their head right or left, respectively.”

He said that the Gyro Arm features a rechargeable battery pack in both the transmitter (hairband) and receiver (GyroArm), which can be charged with any simple mobile phone adapter. On its lightweight design, Hazik said, “The best part about this arm is that we can set how much tilt our head should do for the Gyro Arm to work. In short, we can customize its movements by simply connecting it to our PC/laptop.”

The primary motivation behind these innovations, according to Hazik, is to inspire the youth of Kashmir to engage in technology and address societal issues instead of resorting to negative actions like drugs and suicides, which are unfortunately common in the region.

Hazik, coming from a middle-class family, expressed gratitude to his parents for their unwavering support. He added, “If the government supports me, I can enhance and undertake more innovative and useful projects like these, contributing to the betterment of society.”—(KNO)

JK Weather Update For next 3-4 days

Chilly weather to intensify all over J&K & UT ladakh , the night temperature will further fall tonight. For some places it may turn the coldest night of the season tonight.

For next 3-4 days mostly dry weather are expected for most parts of Jammu and Kashmir, A weak Western disturbance may affect over parts of Jammu and Kashmir from 22 dec evening.

Regards: Kashmir Weather Forecast