Bad weather disrupts Mata Vaishno Devi yatra
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Aug 20: Monsoon fury caused death of two minor children in Tikri area of Udhampur district and evacuation of 13 more families from Talwara in Reasi district today while pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine remained disrupted because of unprecedented flood like situation on Trikuta Hills following heavy rains and bad weather.
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Two children were buried alive when a mud house collapsed due to heavy rain and landslide at village Samole in Tikri Block, late last night around 11 pm. Several other houses in the area were also damaged though no more loss of life was reported.
According to police, three year old Arif and his two-month old brother Gani, both sons of Billa, resident of Jasana Samole, were buried alive when a portion of the mud house, wherein they were sleeping, suddenly collapsed.
At the time of incident, other family members were having dinner in the outer room of the house while both the kids were sleeping in the portion which caved in.
Even as the family members tried their best to rescue their children, who were trapped under the debris, only their dead bodies could be retrieved after a Police party, led by In-charge police Post Tikri, Sub Inspector Abdul Satar reached the spot and launched a rescue operation with the help of locals.
Meanwhile, 13 more families were shifted to safe shelters following fresh landsliding at Talwara migrant colony in Reasi district today. So far total 25 families have been shifted from the unsafe zone to NHPC sheds since last evening as the entire area continue to remain in the grip of monsoon fury.
While 12 families were moved out of the area yesterday, 13 more families were shifted today to nearby NHPC sheds that have been converted into a relief camp. These families were living close to the foothills of Siarh Baba Mountains and the area was facing continuous landslides due to torrential rain. A few families have moved to their relatives’ houses.
As per the reports, incessant rains today triggered fresh landslides and flood water mixed with rubbles and mud damaged more houses in the area where five houses were partially buried yesterday.
District administration had already deployed teams of police and other departments to shift the families in case of emergency and avoid any further damage.
Because of bad weather, Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage was again suspended late this evening for overnight as precautionary measure.
Earlier, the yatra was temporarily suspended last evening following flash floods like situation in the Trikuta Hills. Even as the pilgrimage was resumed this morning after 7 am, the new track to Bhawan remained closed and the chopper as well as batter car service also remained suspended due to bad weather.
Thousands of pilgrims were present at the shrine Bhawan when it started raining heavily around 6 pm last evening and continued till midnight triggering flood like situation in Trikuta Hills. However, there was no loss of life or any major damage to the property, said CEO Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Anshul Garg.
As precautionary measure, the Shrine Board authorities decided to again suspend the yatra from 10 pm today to 5 am tomorrow morning because of bad weather.
Reports from Poonch and Rajouri said that roads were flooded while the rain water entered into shops and houses because of continuous heavy rainfall in the area for more than two hours. Water level in river and Sukha Katha Nallah also crossed the danger level following which police sounded an alert.
Four persons with two Tractor trolleys were stranded in Batar Nallah near Malti Gate. Even as they managed to come out safely later, one trolley remained stuck in the water till last reports came in.
Heavy rainfall around 3 pm in Poonch led to overflowing of nallahs with the result rain water started flooding roads near Police Station, Shanker Nagar, Aazad Mohalla, Bashiter Nagar and Kamsar areas.
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