Gopal Sharma/
Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Mar 12: The uninterrupted rains across the State and snowfall on the higher reaches of Kashmir and parts of Jammu region has paralysed the life of the people with the closure of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and several other roads while Army recued 73 people from the snow in Tanghdar area of Kupwara district.
The snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir and parts of Jammu region continued for second day today while Kashmir valley was lashed by rains resulting in considerable drop in the temperature.
The heavy rain in Ramban and Banihal areas this evening caused massive landslides near Ramban, forcing authorities to close Jammu-Srinagar National Highway for the movement of traffic. A large number of vehicles, mostly trucks are said to have been stranded on both sides of the Highway. The authorities at Udhampur did not allow movement of vehicles towards Srinagar and Doda-Kishtwar after 1 pm.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway which was closed as a precautionary measure due to shooting stones and slush between Ramban and Banihal, for traffic last evening, was restored in the morning. There was disruption in traffic during the day also due to shooting stones and partial landslides at 3-4 places between Batote and Banihal but the traffic was restored immediately after clearing the road. The National Highway authorities have deployed machines at these problematic areas.
A senior Traffic police official said that the movement of traffic on Batote- Kishtwar road was also affected due to landslides but the road was restored after some time. Till this evening Doda-Kishtwar road was operational till this evening, he said.
An official spokesman said that district authorities of Doda and Udhampur ordered closure of schools following avalanche warning by the MeT authorities. The Met official has predicted heavy rainfall and also snowfall at higher reaches for the next two days. The examinations which were to be held today have also been postponed. The DC Doda Bhupinder Kumar has directed all the officers to remain present at their respective headquarters to deal with any emergent situation.
The intermittent snowfall continued in the higher reaches of Kashmir including Gulmarg and Sonamarg. Gulmarg experienced about one foot of fresh snow till this evening. Moderate snowfall was also reported from other high altitude areas including Peer Ki Gali in South Kashmir, Sonamarg and Zojila Pass in Central Kashmir, Z-Gali, Razdan Pass, Sadna Pass and adjoining areas in North Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC) and Gurez valley.
Srinagar and other plain areas received intermittent rains since yesterday causing considerable drop in the mercury which had remained unusually several degrees higher than the normal during this winter.
Srinagar recorded 20.0 mm of rain since yesterday till 1430 hours, Pahalgam in South Kashmir recorded the highest 51.4 mm during the same period. Kokernag, recorded 44.6 mm of rain during the past 30 hours ending 2.30 PM followed by North Kashmir’s Kupwara district 42.6 mm and Qazigund 36.8 mm.
The MeT office has forecast improvement in weather tomorrow afternoon, which came as a relief to the people of the Valley who have been forced by wet conditions to look for woolens which they had put away due to the improved weather.
The rains and snowfall led to plummeting of temperatures across the State. Srinagar recorded a maximum of 11.8 degree Celsius, three notches below normal. Jammu recorded a maximum of 16.3 degree Celsius, 10 notches below normal.
Inspector General of Police, Traffic, Viplov Kumar told the Excelsior that heavy rains triggered shooting stones and slides between Ramsu and Banihal, at Gangroo, Panthal and Sher Bibi. He said that the slides and shooting stones were cleared during the day but in the evening at around 6:45 pm a huge slide hit the road at Sher Bibi which forced the closure of the highway. He said that the efforts are on to clear the slide during the night so that the highway will be thrown open till morning.
Meanwile, Army today rescued 73 people including children and critically ill patients who were stranded in snow in vehicles at Tanghdar in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
The incessant rains and heavy snowfall at higher reaches of Tanghdar, yesterday, triggered avalanche on Tanghdar- Nasta Chhun road causing road blocks at various places.
“Army detachment based at Nasta Chhun received information about stranded vehicles full of passengers including women, children, aged persons and an ambulance with critically ill heart patient approximately 1.5 Kilometers away from Nasla Chhun Pass,” a Defence spokesman said.
Due to landslides in Gohlan Uri several families were shifted. A local resident of Gohlan, Nazir Hussain Shah, said that PMGSY was constructing road in the area. The continuous rainfall caused landslides in already loose soil because of continuous cutting by machines. The families were shifted to safer locations.
SDM Uri, Showkat Ahmad Rather when contacted said, “ee have taken cognizance of the matter and departments concerned have been asked to construct the walls at the earliest so that there are no landslides in the village due to road construction.
Meanwhile, fresh landslide took place near VIP Gate at Katra Mata Vaishnodevi shrine today. However, no casualty or any injury to any body was reported. The Yatra remained uninterrupted.
In Jammu, water logging at many places stalled the smooth movement of traffic. The attendance in the offices and schools was also thin today due to continuous rain. With the rain for the last two days, the temperature has also decreased considerably, forcing people to wear sweaters and jackets.
Reports from Reasi said that landslides near Dharmari also blocked Reasi-Mahore road. The road from Mahore to Budhal via Chasana has also been closed due to landslides at Jandrawalla and Jamslan. Fresh snowfall at Daggan Top has blocked Mahore-Gool road as well.
Reports from Udhampur said that Ramnagar-Dudu-Basantgarh road and Basohli-Bani road were also closed last evening but the traffic was restored today on Bani road. The power supply to many areas of Bani, Lohai-Malhar and Machhedi has been affected. House of one Kamlu Ram collapsed in Bani area last night while similar two incidents have been reported from Billawar area.
However, no loss of life was reported. The reports of snapping of power supply and damages to poles and transformers have also been received from parts of Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar. The Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway was clear but heavy snowfall has been reported since yesterday on Mughal Road. The authorities had cleared nearly 70 percent of the snow from Mughal Road but now again it may take another fortnight to clear this road again, an official from R&B department said.
Meanwhile, during thunderstorm and lightning last night, an Army jawan was killed and two others were injured at border village of Abtal in Ramgarh sector of Samba. These jawans were deployed at a forward post when the incident took place.
The deceased was identified as Jai Pal Singh, resident of Kullu In Himachal Pradesh. The two injured namely Anil Kumar of Pathankot and Neel Raj of Hamirpur were admitted at Samba hospital. They belonged to 5 JAK Rifles. Their post and a green tree were also badly damaged.
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