Rain lashes Valley, 3 killed in lightning strike in Poonch

SHOOTING STONES Traffic hampered on Srinagar-jammu NH

SRINAGAR/JAMMU : Rains lashed parts of Kashmir on Tuesday bringing down the temperature by seven degrees and also disrupting traffic along the Srinagar-jammu national highway.

The weather remained cloudy with light to moderate rain in many parts of the Valley. While Srinagar experienced very light rain, Qazigund in south Kashmir received moderate showers.“the summer capital, Srinagar ,recorded a negligible 0.2 mm of rainfall, while Qazigund received 32.3 mm of rain,” said an official of the MET department.

The southern tourist resort of Pahalgam received 13.6 mm rain and the meadow of Gulmarg in north Kashmir received 10 mm of rainfall. “Jammu and Banihal also received showers,” the official said. Rain also hampered traffic on the Srinagar-jammu national highway after shooting stones blocked the road at Panthial and Trishul point. Rain is expected to continue at night.

“Tomorrow there will be some scattered rainfall after which weather will mostly remain dry for a few days. On July 25, there is again prediction of scattered rains,” the weather official said.

In Poonch, a couple was among three people killed after lightning struck them at a dhok (makeshift home) in the Gum Sar area on

Mondaynight. Poonchsspramesh Kumar Angral said lightning struck the area in Behram around 11.30pm, killing Mohammad Hassiq, 38, his wife Zareena Kousar, 30, and Javed Ahmed, 38. Nomads head to the upper reaches in summer in search of pasture for cattle and live in dhoks.