3 trapped in floods in Rajouri, Samba rescued
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, July 23: Amidst heavy rain, two people lost their lives in a landslide that occurred in Badora area in tehsil Mahore in district Reasi last night, three persons trapped in flooded rivers in Rajouri and Samba were rescued while chopper service to Mata Vaishnodevi remained suspended for several hours due to bad weather today.
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The traffic on busy Jammu- Srinagar National Highway remained disrupted in Ramban area for about five hours after landslide this morning while Reasi-Mahore-Chasana road also remained blocked for several hours.
Reports from Reasi said that incident at Badora village in Sungari area of Mahore near a new Shiv Gufa took place when the two youth were sleeping in a tent. Suddenly, due to land-slide during early hours today, debris from a hill fell on the site, burying them underneath. Both the youth died on the spot. Five others sustained minor injuries in the incident.
The deceased were later identified as Rashpal Singh (26), son of Soba Ram, resident of Tuli Kalawan, in tehsil Chassana, district Reasi, and Ravi Kumar (23), son of Parshottam Kumar, resident of Chenani tehsil, in district Udhampur.
It is said that the victims along with a few others were staying at the site as part of preparations for a religious event scheduled to take place at Shiv Gufa Badora. Rashpal Singh was reportedly working as a JCB operator at the site.
Upon receiving information, police party from Chasana rushed to the spot, retrieved the bodies, and shifted them to the local Primary Health Centre. The bodies after postmortem and performing legal formalities were handed over to their respective families.
“Just now spoke to DC Udhampur, Saloni Rai after receiving information about a landslide in district Reasi, resulting in two casualties, one of whom belonged to Mantalai area in district Udhampur. Five others have been injured. The administration is promptly undertaking relief and rescue measures. I am in constant touch,” Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said on X.
Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has condoled the loss of lives due to the tragic landslide incident at Badora area of Reasi district.
The landslide incident at Badora in Reasi is saddening. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved family members who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
Reports from Rajouri said that a minor boy was rescued on Wednesday in a joint operation launched by Army, SDRF and police after he got trapped in a river following flash flood in Muradpur area.
After receiving information, DC Rajouri Abhishek Sharma contacted Army authorities at Rajouri headquarters and Nagrota Corps, seeking prompt airlifting of the trapped boy. With the coordinated efforts the Army, SDRF, police, and local divers launched joint operation and rescued the boy trapped amid the rising waters of flooded Rajouri river.
The Army used a chopper to rescue the boy, that took three hours to carry out the joint operation. Two local youth Imtiaz Ahmed and Mustafa Hussain played vital role in the rescue operation. They both were later rewarded by the DC Rajouri.
The rescued boy was grazing his cattle when heavy flash flood occurred and he got trapped in the middle of the river. Timely action and seamless coordination ensured the safe evacuation of the boy from the floods.
In yet another operation in Samba area, the police and SDRF team rescued two persons trapped on a tractor trolley in the flooded Basantar river today. They had gone to the river site to load sand. Then suddenly they were trapped in the flash flood and mounted on the tractor trolley. Some people spotted them and informed police, Then joint team of SDRF and Police men from Samba Police Station rushed to the spot and rescued both the persons with coordinated efforts.
They were identified as Rinku, son of Girdhari Lal and Kewal, son of Sham Lal, residents of Wards No. 10 Samba. A local diver, Ravi Singh came to the rescue of two SDRF men part of operation without caring for his life, when they also got trapped in the flooded river after the water level went up.
Meanwhile, the land and mudslides blocked the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district on Wednesday, prompting suspension of vehicular traffic and leaving hundreds of people, including Amarnath pilgrims, stranded for some time.
Torrential rains continued across Jammu region for the third day on Wednesday. However, there is no immediate threat of floods anywhere even as most of the water bodies, including rivers and streams, are in spate due to the rising water levels.
A senior official said the district authorities are closely monitoring the weather situation and have taken necessary measures to tackle any situation amid a flash flood alert by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) till July 24.
A mudslide due to flash floods hit a viaduct tunnel near Magerkote and Kela Morh/ Seri in Ramban district at around 10 am, blocking the Jammu-Srinagar highway. The Yatra convoy from Jammu side towards Kashmir had crossed that point by that time. However, the down convoy remained stranded for some time on the highway.
The National Highway authorities pressed machines for the road clearance despite rain and cleared the road around 2.30 pm. The official advised people not to travel on the highway till the weather improves and the road is cleared properly. After road clearance all the stranded vehicles were cleared including the down Yatra convoys from Pahalgam and Baltal camps.
The officials said the Kishtwar-Sinthan road was also blocked due to flash floods at Sinthan Nallah in Kishtwar district.
Reports of landslides forcing closure of various link roads in the mountainous Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Udhampur, Doda and Ramban districts were also received.
The officials said rains also caused damage to a number of ‘kucha’ houses and cowsheds but the exact number would be known only after a detailed assessment. In Rajouri at least nine cattle were killed after cattle- sheds collapsed. One incident took place in Qila Darhal area while another occured in Peeri area of Rajouri district. .
Authorities on Tuesday set up 24×7 control rooms at almost all district headquarters across Jammu division.
The step was taken after IMD issued a guidance bulletin, warning of a low to moderate risk of flash floods in Jammu division over the next 24 hours, the officials said.
In response, the officials said the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) have been urged to take necessary precautions and measures as per established protocols to ensure public safety and mitigate risks.
A MeT official said that Udhampur district recorded the highest 51.8 mm of overnight rainfall followed by 20.5 mm in Ramban, 17.9 mm in Reasi and 8.5 mm in Jammu.
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