Rains lash most parts of J-K, Jammu-Srinagar national highway closed

Banihal/Jammu, Jun 26 : Most parts of Jammu and Kashmir received heavy rains on Monday, bringing respite from sweltering heat but also triggering landslides at multiple locations that blocked the key Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and other roads, officials said. Authorities closed all schools upto class 10 in Ramban due to a threat of flash floods owing to heavy rainfall, they said. The 250-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was blocked due to multiple landslides and shooting stones from the hillock at Cafeteria Morh and Mehar in Ramban town in the wee hours of the day, the officials said.
However, the stranded vehicles were cleared around 2.30 pm after road clearance agencies managed to make it worthy of one-way traffic. No fresh traffic was allowed either from Srinagar or Jammu on the highway this morning, the officials said. They said the traffic on Mughal road, an alternative link connecting the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian district, was also suspended for several hours due to a landslide at Hari Katha near Behramgalla. The road was cleared around noon as the weather improved, the officials said. Jammu recorded 41.2 mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Monday, resulting in an appreciable drop in night temperature which settled at 23.2 degrees Celsius compared to 29.1 degrees Celsius the previous night. Kathua district of Jammu region recorded the highest rainfall of 108.8 mm followed by highway town of Batote in Ramban with 62.2 mm, while Srinagar recorded 26.8 mm of rainfall since Sunday night, a spokesperson of the meteorological department said. The weatherman has predicted mostly wet weather till the month-end and advised people to remain cautious during the active phase of monsoon in the Union Territory. “The rain may lead to localised flash floods and mudslides in vulnerable spots, especially in Jammu region (during June 27 and 30). People are requested to remain cautious during active phase of monsoon,” the spokesperson said.