The Kashmir Pulse

BARAMULLA — A person was killed and another injured after a road accident involving a truck and an Eeco vehicle bearing registration number JK04H-7988 at Hyderbeigh area of Pattan on Wednesday, officials said.

The deceased has been identified as Rayees Ahmad Najar, son of Ghulam Nabi Najar, a resident of Hygam. Officials said he sustained serious injuries in the collision and was rushed to the Trauma Hospital Pattan, where doctors declared him dead.

Another person, identified as Javaid Ahmad Najar, brother of the deceased, was also injured in the accident. He was shifted to the Trauma Hospital Pattan for treatment, where his condition is reported to be stable.

Police said they have taken cognizance of the incident and initiated an investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident.

SRINAGAR — After the season’s first major widespread snowfall, Jammu and Kashmir is set to witness another spell of rain and snow from Monday evening, the Meteorological Department said.

The department has issued an advisory, warning of the possibility of moderate to heavy rain or snowfall, accompanied by thunder and gusty winds, from late night of January 26 till the evening of January 27.

The weather is expected to remain generally cloudy till evening on January 26, followed by light to moderate rain or snowfall at most places across the union territory. At a few locations, moderate to heavy rain or snow is likely, accompanied by thunder and gusty winds.

Light rain or snowfall is expected at a few places on January 28, while January 29 and 30 are likely to remain partly cloudy. The weather is forecast to stay partly cloudy with light rain or snow at isolated to scattered places during January 31 and February 1, followed by generally partly cloudy conditions on February 2 and 3.

After a prolonged dry spell, most parts of Kashmir received the first major snowfall on Friday, which threw normal life out of gear. The snowfall and gusty winds led to the closure of the Srinagar–Jammu national highway, cancellation of flights and disrupted electricity in several areas.

While the Srinagar-Jammu highway was restored for traffic on Sunday, the Mughal Road and Srinagar–Leh continue to remain closed following Friday's snowfall.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is actively engaged in snow-clearance operations on both routes to restore connectivity and ensure commuter safety. The Mughal Road, a key alternate link between the Kashmir Valley and the Jammu region, is being prioritised for early reopening. Meanwhile, minimum night temperatures continued to remain below normal across large parts of Jammu and Kashmir, with several areas experiencing a sharp cold wave, officials said on Monday.

In the Kashmir division, minimum temperatures were recorded 0 to 2 degrees Celsius below normal at many places, while in the Jammu division, night temperatures remained 0 to 3 degrees Celsius below the seasonal average.

Gulmarg, the famous ski tourist destination in north Kashmir, recorded the lowest minimum temperature in the Kashmir division at minus 9.0 degrees Celsius. In the Jammu division, Bhaderwah was the coldest, with the mercury settling at minus 3.0 degrees Celsius.

JAMMU — The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its latest Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings on Thursday, revealing significant disparities in mobile network performance across the Jammu & Kashmir Licensed Service Area. The report indicates that Reliance Jio (RJIL) and Airtel are leading the market in both voice and data quality, while state-run BSNL trails significantly in key performance metrics.

According to the assessment, RJIL recorded the highest average download speed at 216.24 Mbps across its 5G and 4G networks. Airtel followed with an average download speed of 114.63 Mbps. In contrast, Vodafone Idea (VIL) and BSNL lagged with average download speeds of 17.00 Mbps and 4.70 Mbps, respectively.

The disparity extended to upload speeds, where RJIL led with 21.60 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 18.74 Mbps. BSNL recorded the lowest average upload speed at just 2.01 Mbps.

The report also highlighted 5G performance in specific hotspot locations. RJIL achieved 5G download speeds of 197.79 Mbps, while Airtel recorded 116.92 Mbps in these high-density zones.

In the voice service category, RJIL demonstrated the most efficient performance with a Call Setup Time (CST) of just 0.80 seconds. Airtel and VIL followed with setup times of 1.56 seconds and 1.14 seconds, respectively, while BSNL was the slowest at 3.38 seconds.

Regarding call reliability, RJIL achieved the highest Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) at 98.39%. However, BSNL struggled with network stability, recording a Drop Call Rate (DCR) of 11.36%—significantly higher than Airtel (3.46%), VIL (2.69%), and RJIL (2.45%). Notably, VIL performed best in the Call Silence/Mute Rate category with a low rate of 0.99% on packet-switched networks.

The drive tests were conducted between December 8 and December 11, 2025, covering a wide range of environments to reflect real-world usage. The assessment spanned Urban and Transit Routes — 209 km of city drive tests and 43.7 km of highway driving; Railway Connectivity — A 654 km railway route evaluation between New Delhi and Katra; and High-Density Locations — Tests included major pilgrimage and tourist hubs such as the Katra Railway Station, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Patnitop, and bus stands in both Katra and Udhampur.

The findings have been communicated to all concerned Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).