Water enters residential areas
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Aug 27: The water level in Kashmir’s main river, Jhelum, this evening crossed the danger mark after incessant rains across the Valley killing two persons and authorities have closed down the schools and colleges for tomorrow as a precautionary measure.
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With the weather improving from this afternoon, authorities said water levels in Jhelum and its tributaries are receding in South Kashmir and are likely to start receding in Srinagar from midnight.
Authorities said here that Jhelum was flowing above the flood declaration mark at Sangam. It was 23.35ft in the area where the danger mark is 25 ft. However, they said, the water level was receding at Sangam.
“At Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar, the river Jhelum was flowing above the danger mark at 21.07feet. The danger mark is, however, 21 feet and the level was persistently increasing this evening”, they said.
“Similarly, in the Asham area of Bandipora, the water level was increasing and was flowing at 11.58 ft, which was below flood declaration mark.”
The officials said that water level may rise slightly by 0 – 0.3 feet and remain stable for a couple of hours, after which a gradual decline is expected.
In the meantime, two youth lost their lives after coming in contact with a live electric wire in Ganjiwara area of Anantnag town due to flooding in the area.
The deceased have been identified as Irshad Ahmad Bhat, 30, son of Ghulam Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Lower Munda, Qazigund, and Junaid Shafi Bhat, 25, son of Mohammad Shafi Bhat, a resident of Moominabad, Anantnag. Click here to watch video
An official said that both were engaged in loading their truck when a low-tension electric wire suddenly snapped and fell on them, resulting in their on-spot death.
In another incident, at least 75 sheep perished due to severe weather conditions in the Shankerpora area of Dooru, Anantnag. The sudden loss has left the affected shepherd family devastated, as their livelihood has been severely impacted.
Soon after receiving information, senior officials from various departments visited the spot, who assured the family that their case will be taken up with higher authorities.
The distressed family has appealed to the Government for immediate compensation and relief, stressing that the tragedy has pushed them into a financial crisis.
As the water bodies across the Valley swelled due to rainfall, with some areas in South Kashmir receiving heavy rain, several areas were left flooded and water entered residential and commercial areas in Srinagar and Anantnag districts. The rise in water level in different streams has caused damage at multiple places in South Kashmir including at Pahalgam’s selfie point.
The waters also entered the district court complex in Anantnag district, following which the District Judge and other staff had to be evacuated by the SDRF personnel using a boat.
The district administrations and police in Anantnag, Kulgam and Srinagar had to evacuate people living in low-lying areas to safety.
In Srinagar, water entered the residential areas in Kursu, Rajbagh, Bemina and Sekidafar.
Kashmir had no access to the call and internet services as heavy rainfall and cloudbursts had resulted in the disruption of the services. The services were restored this afternoon, but were shortly snapped again and restored in the evening.
Besides, the swelling of river Jhelum created panic across Kashmir with people fearing a decade ago situation once again. The water level has increased and crossed the danger mark in river Jhelum across the Valley.
As the light rains continued across Jammu and Kashmir parts today, Director, Meteorological Department (MeT), Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that there is a forecast of mainly dry weather conditions for the next three days.
“Partly to generally cloudy weather is expected with mainly dry weather at many places during the next 3 hours,” he said.
In its advisory, the MeT has said that there is a possibility of landslides, mudslides and shooting stones at few vulnerable places.
The people have been advised to stay away from water bodies, river embankments, Nallahas, streams and loose structures.
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