*Water level in Wullar rises, Admn on alert
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Apr 18: Kashmir valley was lashed by rains today with a little bit breather in the afternoon when Sun came out but continuous rains for the last four days had led to waterlogging in many areas.
The upper reaches had fresh snowfall and there were heavy rains in the morning in Kashmir. However, the Sun came out in the afternoon briefly giving some sort of relief from chilly weather conditions. In the evening it was drizzling in parts of the Valley leading to drop in the temperatures.
The incessant rains for the last four days has led to rise in water level in streams and rivers and other water bodies. It has also led to water logging in low lying areas of Srinagar and other towns.
Due to incessant rains, the water level in Wullar lake has increased with authorities advising alert for people living along the banks of the lake.
According to the officials, the teams of SDRF, Revenue and other departments have been kept on alert and Government buildings in Bandipora district identified in case need arises to shift any population facing flood threat, adding that all concerned Tehsildars have passed directions for prepare a complete list of people living in surroundings on the banks of Wullar.
Meanwhile, district administration has advised people living on the bank of Wullar lake not to venture outside unnecessarily. The locals said that it has been a week since water level in Wullar is continuously increasing.
People living in the peripheries especially fisherman said that their livelihood was affected as they were not able to venture out in the lake to catch fish.
The continuous rainfall across Kashmir has wreaked havoc in Hardshiva Zaingair area of north Kashmir’s Sopore as the sprawling orchards stand damaged.
Locals told Excelsior that due to the continuous rainfall, the orchards spread over 2000 kanals of the upper belt of Zaingair Hardshiva Sopore have been damaged.
The orchards have been destroyed after the water level of a nearby stream known as ‘Nallah Kalvoor’ increased and the water of the nallah seeped into the orchards, thus causing damage.
The residents said that around 2000 kanals of orchards are underwater and the owners are worried with administration nowhere in sight. The other areas that have been affected include, Goripora, Machipora and Bomai.
“The breach in the canal has taken place in the upper reach and the same has resulted in the flood-like situation,” the locals said.
Arshad Ahmad, a local said that he has been witnessing it since his childhood and that he has come to know from his elders that they have been appealing the administration to look into the matter but to no avail.
“We have time and again requested the concerned departments to come to the spot earlier as well as assess the situation, but they have been turning a blind eye and today there is destruction,” he said.
The residents said that they have been warning the administration of such a situation, but they never listened to them. “The orders which we take care of around the year stand destroyed, and now, we again, are appealing the administration to resolve the issue once and for all,” the residents said.
In the meantime, a Meteorological department official said that Srinagar received 3.8mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am. The minimum temperature remained below normal as Srinagar recorded a low of 7.8 degree Celsius against 7.2 degree Celsius the previous night. The temperature was below 0.1 degree Celsius normal in Srinagar.
Qazigund received 17.6mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 6.6 degree Celsius against previous night’s 6.2 degree Celsius.
Pahalgam received 14.6mm during the time and recorded a low of 3.4 degree Celsius against 5.3 degree Celsius on the previous night.
Kokernag received 17.8mm of rain and recorded a low of 5.1 degree Celsius against previous night’s 4.8 degree Celsius.
Kupwara received 13.8mm of rain during the 24 hours while the north Kashmir district recorded a low of 5.7 degree Celsius against 6.0 degree Celsius the previous night.
Gulmarg received 18.8mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 0.4 degree Celsius against 0.5 degree Celsius the previous night which was below 1.9 degree Celsius than the normal for the area.
The MeT official said the erratic weather will continue for now even as dry weather was expected on April 19 when there will be mainly clear sky becoming partly cloudy towards evening or night.
The MeT has also forecast fairly widespread rain again on April 20 and widespread rain on April 22.
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