Rain wreaks havoc in Jammu; NH, many roads closed
Power, water supply infra suffers heavy damage
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Sept 3: Two persons were killed as a house collapsed in Rajouri, a driver was washed away along with vehicle in a Nallah in Ban Talab area of Jammu North, at least 47 villagers trapped in heavily flooded Chenab river in Garkhal area of Pargwal were rescued using helicopter by BSF men while roads, power and water supply infrastructure suffered massive damage as heavy rains and floods across the region wreaked havoc during last 24 hours.
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Mighty Chenab river was flowing about 8 to 9 ft above the danger mark at Akhnoor in Jammu district while Tawi reached closer to danger mark (16 ft) during morning hours. Movement of vehicles on old Chenab bridge at Akhnoor and 4th Tawi bridge was suspended. Other rivers of the region like- Ravi, Ujh, Basantar, Devak and Tarnah were also flowing at alert mark today.
Jammu-Srinagar National Highway besides Batote Kishtwar and Mughal roads remained closed due to massive landsldies due to over night rains.
Village Garkhal in Pargwal sector of Akhnoor came under heavy flood after a bund near the village breached during morning hours. While many men and youth escaped to the safety, about 47 women and children besides some elderly people remained trapped in the flood water and mounted on the roof top of their houses to save their lives. The flood water entered their fields and caused extensive damage to their paddy and vegetable crops.
On the call of local administration, teams of NDRF/SDRF and police with officers from the Sub Division Akhnoor reached the spot. The team despite several attempts with boats failed to rescue trapped villagers from marooned area.
The locals said that Chenab has diverted its flow towards Garkhal side and in future will cause extensive damage to the fertile lands, especially, Chinore Farm, if bund was not strengthened.
Later, with the intervention of district administration Jammu, the BSF rescued all the trapped villagers. They were taken to a BSF camp in Pargwal sector and provided food and safe shelter.
Reports from Rajouri said that a woman and her daughter lost their lives after a wall and some other portion of their house collapsed during heavy rain at Kagri village in Sunderbani area of Rajouri last night. Both were sleeping when the incident took place.
The deceased have been identified as Sita Devi (52), wife of Rattan Lal, and her daughter Sonia (20), both residents of Kangri. They were inside the house when the wall suddenly collapsed, leaving them trapped under the debris.
On receiving information, a police team headed by SHO Sunderbani, Inspector Rajiv Sharma, rushed to the spot at around 3:00 am. A joint rescue operation was launched and with the assistance of the local Army unit the bodies were retrieved.
The driver of a Tata Mobile load carrier was washed away along with his vehicle in a Nallah near CRPF Camp in Ban Talab area of Jammu North late last night. His vehicle was traced in the morning by the locals of the area while dead body was recovered about 500 mtrs down the road from the Nallah. He was later identified as Sham Lal, son of Milkhi Ram, hailing from Gurha Brahmana.
Meanwhile, as the water level continued to rise in the swollen River Tawi in Jammu city during the morning hours, authorities launched a multi-agency operation to shore up embankments near the damaged fourth bridge to prevent flooding in the low-lying areas.
Heavy rain in Jammu and its upper areas like Udhampur and Ramnagar had damaged the approach road near the fourth Tawi bridge, causing vehicles to get stuck on the broken stretch on August 26.
“If this area is breached, there will be a huge problem. Civil administration, police and Army were engaged in an operation to prevent it here. The engineering wing is working on it,” SP Ajay Sharma said.
The breach could inundate large areas near the fourth bridge as the locality is low-lying. Police have asked people to remain alert and shift to safer places from these vulnerable zones.
“If a breach takes place, there is a possibility of intense flooding here. I have told people to remain alert and try to move to safer places. First and foremost, women, children, and the elderly should be shifted,” the SP added.
Army personnel and engineering teams have laid large waterproof covers over a major portion of the breach to prevent further water seepage due to heavy rain, officials said.
The area has been sealed with barbed wire around the damaged road stretch.
A low-lying colony is hardly 50 to 100 metres away from the “breach” caused by the washing away of a portion of the road connecting the fourth Tawi bridge.
Worried residents of neighbouring localities are having sleepless nights. The area has a population of around 8000 and also houses a big business hub, Nehru Market and Warehouse.
Jammu city has also been cut off from three main road stretches due to landslides on the Panjtirthi-Sidhra road, mudslides on the Manda-Nagrota road, and the closure of one bridge on the River Chenab at Akhnoor.
Two houses collapsed in the old Jammu city and three persons trapped inside were rescued. While one private house collapsed at Kali Janni, a portion of old Estates Department building was damaged/collapsed in Panjtirthi (Kucha Nar Singh) area. Fortunately, no loss of human lives was reported.
Many Jammu localities were flooded with the rain water while flood water from many Nallahs entered the houses and shops of the people. Areas like Kabir Nagar, Talab Tiloo, Bathindi, Channi, Nanak Nagar, Canal Road, Rajiv Nagar, Satwari Nai Basti, Ban Talab, Lower Roop Nagar, Janipur, Paloura, Muthi etc suffered heavy losses. Many City areas remained water logged throughout the day disrupting smooth movement of traffic.
Officials said that Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, Batote- Doda-Kishtwar, Jammu-Katra-Reasi-Mahore, Akhnoor-Rajouri-Poonch, Kathua-Basohli-Billawar and Bani roads, besides many other roads in the region have been closed due to multiplve landslides. Hundreds of vehicles have been stranded at various places, since yesterday. Due to rain throughout the day the restoration work could not be carried out. The landslides and heavy rain for the last two days has also caused more damage to the power and water supply infrastructure.
Reports from Reasi said that Bhimgarh Fort near Reasi suffered damage as its big outer wall has developed huge cracks and may collapse any time. The heavy rainfall has triggered landslides and widespread damage across Reasi district, with parts of the historic Bhimgarh Fort suffering damage. The district administration has issued an advisory restricting public movement in and around the fort to ensure safety. Tourist entry into the fort has been suspended until further notice.
Landslides have also been reported on the Vaishno Devi track, including Charan Paduka, where damage to shops, sheds, and houses was reported near Dawa Morh. Several buildings had to be vacated.
Reasi–Katra road was blocked near Sula Park due to debris but was later cleared for traffic.
Jyotipuram–Salal road remained closed near the check post after a landslide. The traffic from Domail–Moori towards Katra is being diverted via Salora–Kakryal. Mahore–Reasi road has been closed at Malai Nallah and Dhamani. Mahore–Gool road has been blocked at Budhan; Mahore–Chassana road closed due to damage caused to Bodara bridge.
During the intervening night, five houses were washed away by the Ans River at Dharmari Morha Saral in Tehsil Thuroo. Fortunately, no loss of life was reported. The damaged houses belonged to Liaqat Ali, Ghulam Ali, Zaffer Iqbal, and Javied Hussain, sons of Ghulam Ali.
More than a dozen houses have been damaged in Sar Bagga area of Mahore due to a landslide. The affected people are: Ali Mohd, Jamal Din, Shabir Ahmed, Mohd Sharief, Ahmed Din, Qamar Din, Roshan Din, Nazir Ahmed, Bashir Ahmed , Asghar Ali and Bahar Din.
Reports from Doda said that after two days of continuous rainfall, Bhaderwah valley was again in the grip of flood fury as beside swollen Neel Ganga River, four other streams in the town are flowing at rapid pace resulting in land sinking, shooting stones and numerous landslides. Due to rising level of dam, the gates of Baglihar dam were opened.
Meanwhile, acting swiftly, 20 persons who were trapped in the flash floods of Mush-Dev Nullah near Puneja village were timely rescued by using two JCB machines. Administration and locals who were toiling hard to come to the terms after furious floods on August 26 and 27 which resulted in mass destruction of infrastructure were again left to face the fury of nature on Wednesday morning.
District administration Rajouri rescued at least 70 families residing in a slum area closer to the local Nallah near Jhula bridge last night. The water level of the Nallah started rising due to heavy rain. Taking prompt action the team led by DC Rajouri Abhishek Sharma and SSP, Gaurav shifted these families to the safer places and provided immediate assistance.
Reports from Kathua said that almost all the roads are closed while power and water supply has also been badly hit in the district. Lakhanpur-Basantpur-Mahanpur-Basohli and Bani roads have been blocked at several places due to landslides. At Jankhar village in Basohli about 18 houses were damaged since last evening in heavy rain. The families with the hlp of local MLA and administration were taken to safe place.
Additional Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur Prem Singh said that many roads including Chenani, Latti, Dudu, Basantgarh, Pancheri, Ladhar, Moungri, Galiot, Kud, Ramnagar-Majori etc are closed. More than 1000 houses were damaged fully while more than 2000 partially in the district during recent rains. He further disclosed that two serious patients were airlifted from remote Basantgarh area to the GMC Udhampur this evening.
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