*Kashmir gets relief from hot weather after rain
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, June 25: Nine persons were rescued in a joint operation by police and SDRF teams after they were trapped in the Tawi river, following a flash flood due to rain in the higher reaches of many parts of Jammu and Kashmir while traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained suspended for over four hours after landslides in Ramban area today.
Official sources said that heavy rain disrupted movement of traffic along busy Jammu-Srinagar highway for over four hours this morning. Due to heavy rain, the landslides occurred at Mehar, Marog and Karol areas during early morning today. With this, the highway was blocked at around 5.15 am.
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The NHAI staff in the sector, launched road restoration operation after the rain stopped at around 8 am. They managed to clear the road at around 9.30 am. After this, the stranded traffic on both sides was cleared. Heavy traffic jam was created due to single passage at Mehar. Traffic police authorities later allowed scheduled movement of heavy vehicles from Kashmir side to Jammu.
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Reports said one Madan Lal (52), a labourer, had gone for sand extraction in the Tawi around 8.30 am but got trapped due to sudden rise in the water level near Bikram Chowk, main Tawi bridge in Jammu.
He was rescued by State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel who dropped a ladder from the bridge and managed to pull him out after remaining trapped for around two hours, a senior police official said.
Eight more people, including some who had gone for rituals after death (Pind Daan), were rescued in a joint operation by police, traffic cops, SDRF and local volunteers from flooded Tawi. Besides them, several trapped horses were also rescued during the operation, an official said.
Reports from Rajouri said that an overflowing Nallah caused a flood-like situation in Kheora, Lower Jawahar Nagar and Thudi in Rajouri town. A Mahindra vehicle parked near the river bank in Kheora area got damaged after it washed away at some distance but was retrieved later.
Jammu City and parts of Samba, Kathua, Udhampur, Pooch and Reasi also experienced rain during morning hours. With this, a fall in temperature was observed,
According to the Meteorological department, Katra town of Reasi district recorded the highest 108.5 mm of rainfall, followed by Rajouri (80 mm), Udhampur district (71.4 mm), Poonch (48 mm) and Ramban (47.5 mm) during the past 24 hours.
The MeT office has predicted intermittent spells of light to moderate rain and thundershowers at many places with possibility of heavy rain at a few places of Jammu division till June 27.
Meanwhile, rains lashed parts of Kashmir on Wednesday, bringing much-needed relief from the heat wave, even as some places like Srinagar recorded the warmest June night ever, officials said.
Rains lashed parts of the Valley, including Srinagar, this morning. The rainfall brought down the temperature, leading to a much-needed relief from the intense heat wave over the last few weeks, they said.
The City residents welcomed the rain and the cool breeze, that blew across the Srinagar City. Other parts of the Valley like Anantnag, also received rains.
The rainfall came after the city witnessed its warmest night ever in the month of June, the officials said.
Night temperature of Srinagar was recorded at 25 degrees Celsius Tuesday night — the highest ever in the month of June in the recorded history, and 7.9 degrees above the season’s normal.
Tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district also experienced its warmest June night ever. It recorded a night temperature of 18.8 degrees Celsius, they said.
The local MeT department has said the weather will remain generally cloudy with intermittent spells of light to moderate rain and thundershowers at many places of Kashmir till Friday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a flash flood guidance bulletin warning of low to moderate flash flood risk across select areas of Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, and Sirmaur districts in Himachal Pradesh over the next 24 hours.
The alert, issued by the IMD’s Hydromet Division, covers the period till 11:30 AM on June 26, citing the likelihood of intense rainfall over a few watersheds and vulnerable neighborhoods.
The bulletin highlighted the possibility of surface runoff and inundation in some fully saturated and low-lying areas due to expected rainfall.
While the risk remains moderate, residents and local authorities are advised to remain cautious and stay updated with real-time weather updates.
Supporting the forecast, the IMD’s morning weather bulletin reported heavy rainfall in several stations, with Palampur receiving 145.4 mm, Jogindernagar 113.0 mm, and Nahan 94.0 mm over the last 24 hours. These figures reflect very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in some pockets, triggering potential flash flood concerns.
The southwest monsoon has now fully advanced into Himachal Pradesh, intensifying the risk of extreme weather events. The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places for the next five days and continued thunderstorm activity in several parts of the State.
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