336 families relocated in flood-affected areas of Kupwara
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Apr 29: The heavy rains lashed Kashmir and there was fresh spell of snowfall in the hills today leading to flood like situation across the region and at least 336 families have been relocated to safer places in Kupwara district.
Srinagar has recorded a rainfall of 38.6mm during the last 24 hours while Qazigund and Pahalgam have recorded a precipitation of 64.4 mm and 51.7 mm respectively. Kupwara and Kokernag recorded a rainfall of 4.2 mm and 43.6 mm respectively.
In the last 24 hours, Gulmarg received a precipitation of 30.2mm including snowfall.
Machil recorded 2 ft of snowfall, Sadhna Top 2.5 ft, Sonamarg 3-4 inches, Tulail Gurez 1.5ft, Zojila Pass one ft, Gulmarg 2-3 inches, Pir Ki Gali over 1 ft, Sinthan Top over 1 ft and Razdan Pass over 1ft.
Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
The heavy rains led to rapid increase in the water level in all the water bodies. According to the gauge reading by the I&FC Department Kashmir at 11:00 pm, for River Jhelum, Sangam recorded 18.08 ft, Pampore 4.13 m, Ram Munshi Bagh 16.9 ft, Asham 9.58 ft and Wullar recorded 1577.22 m.
The gauge for tributaries recorded at 11:00 pm showed Vishow Nallah at Khudwani flowing at 8.00m, Rambiyara Nallah at Wachi 1.93 m, Lidder Nallah at Batkoot 0.54m, Doodhganga Nallah at Barzulla 2.49 m, and Sindh Nallah at Doderhama 2.22 m.
At least 336 families from the flood-affected areas of Kupwara district were relocated to safer places today by the District Administration.
Around 51 villages of the district have been partly affected, while 5 villages of Handwara area have been fully affected by the floods.
The floods damaged some major infrastructure in the district including Shumriyal Bridge, Khumryal Bridge, Shatmuqam Bridge, Sohipora- Hayhama bridge, Farkyan bridge, two RDD buildings at Kupwara and AD Handicrafts office building. Shumryal- Gundajhanger road got cut-off due to scouring and a breach in Doban Kachama dam.
The District Administration has assured the general public that there is no need to panic as all the men and machinery have been pressed into service for necessary rescue, relief and restoration measures. Water level is continuously monitored and evacuation measures are underway in the flood prone areas. Authorities have established 21 shelter homes across the district.
The Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department today said there was no imminent flood threat looming over the Valley as of now.
Chief Engineer I&FC Department Kashmir, Naresh Kumar, said that the current water levels, except for a few areas, remain within safe limits, dispelling concerns of an impending flood crisis.
“As of now, there is no flood threat. The inputs from IMD suggest that the intensity of rainfall will decrease in the next 4-5 hours in the Valley,” he said.
Kumar, however, said that while there has been an upward trend in water levels in water bodies of the Valley, they anticipate a receding trend by midnight. “Our men and machinery will be on standby mode tonight to address any potential breaches in river embankments. Fortunately, there have been no reports of any embankment breaches so far,” he said.
He said that Pohru Nallah (Seelu) in Kupwara district has reached the danger level, while Vishow Nallah in the south has touched the warning level.
He further said they are expecting a rise in the water level in the river Jhelum, urging people to refrain from approaching water bodies.
As a precautionary measure, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Vijay Kumar Bhuduri today ordered closure of all schools upto 12th standard tomorrow.
“After field assessment and as a precautionary measure, we have decided to keep schools closed here. We are monitoring the situation and the field officers are continuously updating us,” he said.
In the meantime, University of Kashmir also informed all the concerned candidates that all the examinations which are scheduled to be held on April-30-2024 are postponed. The Assistant Controller of Examinations at the Varsity said that it will announce new examination dates soon.
The intermittent heavy rainfall led to the closure of all the major roads and highways across Kashmir, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded along the routes in different areas.
Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri (SSG) road is still blocked due to snow accumulation. Mughal Road that is also blocked due to snow accumulation remains closed for the traffic movement.
Meanwhile, the commuters in Srinagar and other areas had to face tremendous hardships today as the roads remained submerged in rain water. The lanes and bi-lanes in Srinagar and elsewhere remained submerged, giving tough times to the commuters to commute.
However, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has stated that the staff, particularly drainage wing of SMC remained alert and is tackling the issue of inundation in different areas.
The areas like Gogji Bagh, Hazratbal, Pamposh Colony, Palpora, Sir Sayed Market Gogji Bagh, Humhama, Bemina, Jawahar Nagar, Khanyar, Eidgah, HMT, TRC, Makia Point Boulevard and etc were affected by waterlogging.
Director Meteorological department (MeT), Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that the intensity of rains have decreased in a number of areas this evening and there is a forecast of dry spell from May 01-May 05.
“The weather is expected to remain wet till late evening and a light spell of rain is expected tomorrow as well,” he said.
He said that there may be temporary disruption of traffic over higher reaches of Zojila, Sinthan Pass, Mughal Road, Razdan Pass. He further said that water logging is expected in low lying areas and there is a possibility of landslides and shooting stones.
“Temporary increase in water level in Jhelum and tributaries and other local streams and Nallahas are expected,” the advisory reads.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
