Rains kill 3 in Jammu; flood alert in south, central Kashmir
Governor NN Vohra visits affected areas to take stock; Amarnath Yatra put on hold
JAMMU/SRINAGAR: Incessant rains claimed three lives in Jammu while a flood alert was sounded in south and central Kashmir on Saturday, with water levels in the Jhelum river rising after heavy rains over the last two days.
The meteorological department has predicted an improvement in the weather over the next two days, but the administration is not taking any chances.
Authorities have set up a round-the-clock monitoring system in various parts of the state. The water level rose above the danger mark at Sangam in south Kashmir as well as Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar on Saturday morning.
In Jammu, Jamela Begun, 30, from a nomadic family camping in the upper regions of the Kishtwar district, was killed when a tree fell on her tent. Her six-yearold daughter Nazia is fighting for her life in hospital.
Anzar Ahmed, 22, was washed away while trying to cross swelling Suran river in Surankote in Poonch district on Friday night. His body was recovered a few kilometers from the area.
Harbans Lal, 30, who returning home from work, was washed away while attempting to cross a stream in spate in Akhnoor on Friday evening.
Officials said the Jhelum rose above the critical 21-feet mark at Sangam due to heavy rainfall. “Due to continuous rains over the past two days, the gauge at Sangam has crossed the flood declaration of 21 feet and was flowing at 21.33 feet at 6 pm,” an official at the irrigation and flood control department said.
Governor NN Vohra on Saturday undertook an extended tour of the summer capital for a firsthand view of the ground situation. Vohra inspected the administration’s preparedness to evacuate people if Srinagar gets flooded, a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.
He visited the Boulevard Road, Hydraulic Gauge Centre of the Jhelum river at Ram Munshi Bagh, Lasjan, and relief camps in the Rawal Pora and Ram Bagh areas, the spokesperson said.
Vohra also inspected the designated relief camps at the tourism department’s community centre in Goripora and Rawal Pora. The divisional commissioner Kashmir explained the basic facilities being provided at these sites.
YATRA PUT ON HOLD
Meanwhile, a total of 587 pilgrims undertook the revered Amarnath Yatra on the third day of the pilgrimage, even as the yatra was suspended on Pahalgam and Baltal routes due to inclement weather. An official said, the yatra remained suspended because of landslides, slippery tracks and shooting stones.
(With PTI inputs)