4 people rescued from flooded Ravi river
*Land mafia diverted flow of Nallah water
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Aug 25: The traffic on Jammu-Pathankote National Highway was restored this evening after a high profile team of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) inspected both the bridges over Sahar Khud near Kathua this afternoon and allowed movement of traffic with restrictions on the second bridge, while four persons were rescued from the flooded Ravi river near Basantpur in Kathua today.
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Official sources told the Excelsior that some influential land mafia people, diverted the flow of water in the Sahar Khud towards one side, some time back to protect their own lands and also encroach upon some more land along the Nallah for parking and other purposes. Flow of water to one side of the two arms of the Nallah caused much damage to the bridge and exposed north side embankment of the second bridge.
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Officials said that the team led by Project Director NHAI, Jammu – Pathankote section first inspected protection work on the exposed northern embankment of the second bridge, constructed hardly 10 years ago and after conducting load bearing capacity test, allowed the movement of the traffic on this bridge. The team also examined the extensively damaged bridge and decided to dismantle the middle portion and reconstruct it. It may take more than six months for the restoration work on this bridge, the officials said.
Dy Commissioner, Kathua, Rajesh Sharma when contacted said that traffic through second bridge of Sahar Khud was restored at around 6 pm today after inspection by a team of engineers from NHAI. He said all the heavy load carriers which were stranded along the highway since yesterday were cleared after 30 hours today evening. He said traffic congestion was being witnessed along the Palli-Nagri-Kathua road since yesterday.
Replying to a question the DC said the other bridge over this Nallah has been damaged extensively and it has to be dismantled and reconstructed by the concerned agency. The team led by Project Director Rajeev Kumar had detailed inspection of this bridge. The reconstruction process may take several months, he added.
The DC further disclosed that four persons of nomad community including a child were rescued from Ravi river near Basantpur by police and SDRF team. He said ACR Kathua, and Tehsildar had gone there to supervise the rescue operation. Four members of Gujjar community had been trapped in the middle portion of the river along with their cattle. All the four were rescued safely.
Sharma further said that several link roads in the district including Billawar, Basohli and Bani were blocked due to landsliding and they will be restored as the weather improves. The old Samba-Kathua road has also suffered damages and work has been initiated on war footing to restore traffic, he added.
Those rescued from Ravi river near Basantpur have been identified as Mohd Shafi (60 yrs), his wife Reshma, their daughter-Parveena and her 2 years old child.
Reports said that entire Kathua district including its higher areas like Billawar, Basohli and Bani were lashed by continuous rain since early morning. Though Ravi river was heavily flooded during morning, the water level in Ujh, Tarnah and other seasonal Nallahs was less today as compared to Sunday. With the heavy rain and landslides, the power supply to several areas in the district has also been affected.
Reasi- Salal-Mahore road was blocked at two places due to landslides ahead of Jyotipuram last night. The road could be restored this evening.
Heavy rain on Sunday created flood-like situation in many areas of Jammu and Samba, causing damage to the public property. Jammu recorded 190.4 mm rainfall, the second-highest downpour this month in a century. At least 45 students of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) were evacuated to safety by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and J&K Police after floodwater submerged the ground floor of the hostel complex, in Shakti Nagar area, in Jammu yesterday.
Normal life remained disrupted in Jammu city because of the downpour which led to overflowing of encroached nallahs, and big drains, leading to inundation of roads/ lanes on Sunday. Tawi river was flooded even today but the water level was less. The authorities sounded alert in the low lying areas.
So far, there have been no immediate reports of casualties, but the rains have triggered landslides at several places in Jammu region and Gurez in north Kashmir, the officials said.
Meanwhile, chopper service to Mata Vaishnodevi from base camp Katra remained disrupted for several hours today due to bad weather and rain, however, pilgrimage continued smoothly.
The traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway continued amidst brief disruption in Ramban sector. The Mughal Road, however, remained closed.
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