Heavy rain lashes Kashmir Valley; 44 structures damaged

A number of buildings were damaged, while the Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been shut because of heavy rain which lashed many parts of Kashmir.

Heavy rain since Saturday has resulted in damage to at least 44 structures, including 18 houses, due to landslides in the Chrar-e-Sharief area of Kashmir, officials said.

The rain has forced the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway due to landslides at some places, an official of the traffic department said.

He said the road was closed on Saturday for repair work, but fresh downpour has resulted in the arterial road remaining closed for the second consecutive day on Sunday.

Although the water level in the Jhelum was still four feet below the danger mark of 18 feet at Ram Munshi Bagh in the city, the rise of two feet in the past five hours has created panic among residents, officials said.

At Sangam in south Kashmir, the river was flowing at 14.25 feet, nearly seven feet below the danger mark.

Many shopkeepers in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and surrounding areas were seen taking out their merchandise to safer places in view of the rising water level. Some shops in low-lying areas of the city have been submerged due to waterlogging of roads due to congested drains.

Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed flew to Srinagar from Jammu to take stock of the situation and monitor the steps taken to counter the situation.

“The chief minister reached Srinagar to personally monitor the situation arising due to incessant rains in the Valley,” an official spokesman said.

Three ministers — Altaf Bukhari, Imran Raza Ansari and Asiya Naqash — have been travelling through the city since Sunday morning, asking people not to panic and assuring of all possible help.

A dedicated desk has been set up in the Police Control Room to assist people in waterlogged areas of the Valley.

Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh informed the Assembly in Jammu that administration is on “full alert” as heavy downpour lashed the Valley. He added that the situation is being monitored continuously.

Singh assured that all precautionary measures have been put in place. 

A landslide caused by the rain in Chontinar village of Budgam district destroyed eight residential houses and 10 cowsheds on Saturday evening, police said. At least 26 houses have been partially damaged by the landslide, but there have been no reports of loss of life in the incident, a police official said.

He said residents of the area had been evacuated to safety before the landslide struck.

The Valley has been witnessing heavy rainfall since Saturday, leading to sudden surge in water level of rivers, streams and rivulets, causing panic among the residents about possibility of fresh floods.

The MET office has predicted wet weather for the next six days with heavy downpour expected on Sunday and on April 3.

The main road in Rajbagh is submerged in over 18-inch-deep water, while roads in many other areas of the city, including commercial hub of Lal Chowk and adjoining Regal Chowk,  are also waterlogged problem.

Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Lone said due to technical fault in the electricity supply system, the dewatering operations were delayed. “The fault in electricity supply has been removed and dewatering has been started. Besides the regular dewatering stations, we are pressing into service fire tenders to dewater the city roads,” Lone said.