Gopal Sharma
SRINAGAR/JAMMU, July 24: A cloudburst struck near the Baltal Base camp of Shri Amarnath Ji in Sonamarg area of district Ganderbal tonight washing away tents, shops and one person is reported to be dead so far.
Reports said that the cloudburst hit the hills near the Baltal leading to flash floods. The water in no time entered the tents and shops at Baltal Base camp and washed them away.
An unidentified body has been recovered and some vehicle were also washed away. There is commotion in the camp where hundreds of yatris were camping.
Meanwhile, with massive flood in rivers Devak and Basanter today atleast half a dozen villages and three BSF posts were marooned in Ramgarh sector of Samba near International Border; a bailey bridge, major portion of a road and a house got washed away due to flood in river Poonch while three houses collapsed in Poshana area of Surankote.
At least 20 families, whose houses were washed away and suffered heavy damage due to cloudburst in Kalaban and Chhatral area of Mendhar yesterday are sitting in the open as no relief and assistance has been provided by the Poonch district administration. The road connectivity besides power and water supply to these at least four-five villages and over a dozen hamlets has also been snapped. A power receiving station of PDD at Chhatral has been badly hit with the cloudburst and its operation has also been stalled.
The Army soldiers continued search for their belongings and missing weapons even today in 2-3 kms of area as 37 RR company was completely wiped out due to destruction caused by the cloudburst second time within two weeks. The Company Commander and two other soldiers were also injured while fleeing to safety during this mid-night natural calamity.
Reports from Samba said that due to heavy rain and flood during early hours today, Basantar and Devak rivers wrecked havoc in the low lying areas of Ramgarh near Indo-Pak border. Half a dozen villages and some hamlets were marooned and the breached bund of the river could not be restored by the Flood Control authorities. Some crate work has been started but this breached area remained unplugged.
The flood water entered villages Kamore, Rangoor, Nanga, Kamore Camp, Chak Paras, Barota and Koulpur and damaged the property of the people besides their standing crop. The flood water spread in 4-5 sq km of area. Three BSF posts near the border have also been marooned. The border security agency men are using motor boats for keeping vigil along the International Border.
The villagers said that in some places the water level was 5 to 6 feet in the morning and it started decreasing in the afternoon. They alleged that despite strong protest by the locals of the area, the District Administration failed to plug the breached area and initiate immediate repair work on war footing. “This shows the insensitivity on the part of PDP-BJP Government. Moreover, standing paddy crop worth crores of this belt has been badly damaged,” they added.
In Poonch city, a pucca house of an ex-serviceman Ayub Khan was washed away in flooded Poonch river during this morning. The family members however, managed to escape. The flood water also entered in some of the houses near the river. A portion of bailey bridge also got washed away in the flood.
The flood in Poonch river also washed away major portion of Khanetar road snapping link to Jallas, Magnad, Kanuiyan and several other villages near LOC. The connectivity to Mendhar via KG road has also been snapped due to washing away of this road and landslides near Uchhad in Mankote area of Mendhar.
Sub Divisional Police Officer Surankote, Riaz Tantray said that due to heavy rain during last night and morning hours today, three kucha houses were collapsed in Poshana area near Mughal road falling under Chandimarh. However, no loss of human life has been reported. He said that Suran river was over flooded and several cattle said to have been washed away.
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