* Wind storm snaps power supply; man dies of lightning
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, July 1: Heavy rain in Jammu today brought big relief to the people here from the scorching heat as city’s temperature experienced a sharp fall of nearly 7 to 8 degree Celsius in the evening while the wind storm before the rain caused extensive damage to the power infrastructure as several trees got uprooted.
It became nearly total darkness in the winter capital city here at around 3.30 pm due to thick black clouds hovering over the sky this afternoon. It was night like scene in the city as vehicle were seen running on the roads with their headlights on. It was followed by a wind storm of high intensity. Several trees and electric poles were uprooted while branches of many trees were also broken causing disruption in movement of vehicles in the city and its outskirts. A large tree fell down on a Maruti Swift car near Gurdwara Fateh Singh at Gandhinagar.
The tin roofs of many structures/ sheds at working sites and huts also got uprooted causing damage to the public and Government properties. The power supply to many areas was also snapped while a senior PDD officer said that in case of strong winds, the power supply is often switched off from the power houses, to avert possible mishaps/ tragedies. In most parts of Jammu city, the power supply was snapped at around 3.20 pm and it could not be restored till late this evening.
The rain water during heavy downpour also entered several houses and shops in Nanak Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Digiana, Gangyal, Channi Rama, Canal Road and Talab Tillo besides several other localities. The water logging at several chowks and roads of the city also disrupted smooth movement of the traffic. For about one and half hour, the city witnessed heavy rain and the drains and city nallahs were seen over flowing. It also caused damage to the roads and lanes in many areas of the city.
During thunder storm and lightning in Vijaypur area, one Bhawani Singh (35), son of Jau Paul Singh, resident of Nathwal died when a strong beam of light from the sky hit him this evening. He was standing under a mango tree when the lightning occurred. The big branches of the tree were also broken with the impact of lightning.
A Met spokesman said that Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 36.3 degree Celsius and minimum 30.7 degree C today while 42 mm rainfall was recorded this evening. A day earlier, Jammu’s temperature was 38.7 degree C and relative humidity was 68 % while today it reduced to about half of it.
With the rain this afternoon, about eight degree fall in temperature was noticed in the evening. The people felt big relief from the scorching hot and humid weather conditions. Katra Mata Vaishnodevi experienced 13.8 mm rainfall. The helicopter service to Mata Vaishnodevi shrine was also suspended in the afternoon in view of bad weather conditions.
The spokesman has predicted heavy rain and thunder showers in most parts of Jammu region in next three days. He said that weather in Kashmir and parts of Valley would remain almost dry while plains and hilly areas of Jammu region would experience rain in next 2-3 days.
Chief Engineer M&RE, Ashwani Gupta told the Excelsior that due to strong wind storm the power lines at many places got damaged and poles got uprooted. With this the electricity supply to many city localities and other areas got affected. He said that field staff of the PDD was engaged to identify the faults and rectify the same. He claimed that power supply to most of the areas will be restored by tonight as the PDD men were on the job. He said the loss was not of big nature but at some places cables have been damaged. The reports of damage caused to the power transformers have also been received from some areas. The same will be restored on war footing, Mr Gupta added.
A senior Traffic Police official said that Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was clear despite some rain in Jammu and Udhampur areas. There was brief disruption in traffic on Mughal road due to landslide during rain but it was cleared within half an hour, he added.
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