Two stranded in swollen river rescued
Flash-floods hit Udhampur village, families evacuated
Jammu Tawi, Jul 24 : The Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for the third consecutive day on Friday following multiple landslides, shooting stones and road erosion triggered by incessant rain.
Relentless rain, cloudbursts and flash floods over the past six days have claimed 26 lives in the Jammu region, while six persons are still missing, officials said.
Rescue teams have intensified searches for the missing in the worst-hit border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, deploying additional personnel to scan flood channels and vulnerable areas.
The 250-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, remained blocked at Deohal bridge, Samroli and Jakhani in Udhampur district and Banihal in Ramban district.
“Jammu-Srinagar national highway is still closed for vehicular movement due to landslides and shooting stones at several locations,” a traffic police advisory said.
Officials said restoration work was underway but continuous rainfall was hampering debris clearance and repair operations.
More than 1,000 vehicles remained stranded at Ramban, Nagrota, Jammu, Udhampur, Lakhanpur and Samba due to the highway closure. Commuters have been advised to avoid travel until the road is declared safe.
Besides the national highway, over a dozen inter-district roads, including the Doda-Kishtwar road, remained closed due to landslides, mudslides and road erosion. However, the Mughal Road and the Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri (SSG) road remained open despite heavy rainfall.
To facilitate the movement of stranded passengers, Northern Railway operated a special train from Budgam and Banihal to Katra. More than 600 stranded tourists were also shifted from Srinagar to Jammu, officials said.
The Meteorological Department forecast rainfall over parts of Jammu, particularly the Chenab valley, Udhampur, Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, with South Kashmir expected to receive significant precipitation. Weather conditions are likely to improve gradually after the afternoon, though scattered showers may continue till evening.
Officials said almost all rivers and streams were flowing above normal levels, while flash floods inundated several low-lying areas, damaging houses, shops and public infrastructure.
Rescue and relief operations involving the civil administration, police, SDRF, NDRF and other agencies continued across the affected districts.
The administration said the Amarnath, Mata Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori and Machail pilgrimages would remain suspended for the day, with pilgrims advised to stay at designated base camps and lodging centres.
“In view of the inclement weather forecast issued by the IMD, the Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra shall remain suspended till further orders. Accordingly, no vehicle carrying yatra pilgrims shall be allowed to proceed from Jammu, Udhampur or Ramban towards Srinagar,” an official advisory said.
More than 15,000 pilgrims are stranded at base camps and lodging centres in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Ramban and Banihal, while security personnel have been deployed along the highway to prevent movement towards Kashmir.
Heavy rainfall lashed several parts of Jammu during the past 24 hours, with Udhampur recording the highest precipitation of 96.5 mm till 8.30 a.m. on Friday, followed by Batote (84.2 mm), Ramban (69.5 mm) and Bhaderwah (65.7 mm), according to rainfall data.
In the Jammu region, Katra received 45.1 mm of rainfall, Kathua 44.8 mm, Banihal 38.3 mm, Doda 35 mm, Reasi 27.5 mm, Kishtwar 27 mm, Jammu Airport 26 mm, Jammu city 25.2 mm, and Poonch 7.5 mm, while Rajouri recorded no rainfall.
Meanwhile, two persons stranded in the swollen Bhini River in Kathua district were rescued by police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Friday, officials said.
The two had gone near the river in the Billawar area in the morning. The water level rose suddenly following flash floods, leaving them trapped midstream, they said.
On receiving information, police and SDRF personnel rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.
After sustained efforts, both were rescued unharmed and handed over to their family members, the officials said.
Kathua Senior Superintendent of Police Mohita Sharma supervised the operation, while Billawar police and SDRF teams carried out the rescue, they said.
Police appealed to the public to stay away from rivers, streams and other water bodies during inclement weather and avoid venturing into flood-prone areas as water levels can rise suddenly.
Similarly, Flash floods hit the Barkuanda area of Udhampur district early Friday, causing damage to several houses and prompting the evacuation of affected families, officials said.
The district administration evacuated three affected families to the government middle school at Barkuanda as a precautionary measure, they said.
No casualties have been reported so far, while officials have launched an assessment of the damage caused by the flash floods and landslides.
In another incident, flash floods hit Kadwah village in Basantgarh tehsil, where overflowing water damaged some houses and standing maize crops, they said.
The floodwater was diverted through an alternative channel, preventing further damage to residential structures and agricultural land, officials said.
The Tawi river at Udhampur continued to flow below the alert mark. According to the latest readings, the river was flowing at 12.655 feet against the alert level of 15 feet.
However, the water level in the Chenab river at Akhnoor once again crossed the flood alert level.
Heavy rains over the past five days have caused extensive damage in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
