‘Chilai Kalan’ starts in IOK
ISLAMABAD, (MILLAT ONLINE):‘Chilai Kalan’, the harshest winter period of 40 days started in Indian occupied Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, ‘Chilai Kalan’ the coldest period of the winter in Kashmir starts December 21 and ends on January 31. During this 40-day period, Kashmir remains in grip of cold wave conditions with highest chances of snowfall and rainfall while the night temperatures mostly remain below freezing point.
The taps and water bodies freeze during nights in ‘Chilai Kalan’ and people have to heat water supply lines to defreeze taps.
During ‘Chilai Kalan’, people enjoy ‘Harissa’ a meshed meat delicacy that is served hot in breakfast. Harissa is now a part and parcel of Kashmiri culture.
An elderly person, Abdul Aziz said during the ‘Chilai Kalan’, Kashmir used to witness heavy snowfall and long icicles would hang from rooftops of houses for a long time. He said for the past many years, Kashmir has received less snowfall during ‘Chilai Kalan’.
People living in non-metered areas say they get power outages for 12 to 14 hours daily, while people in non-metered areas face power cuts of 4 to 8 hours.