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Monsoon fury: Mother-daughter duo among 3 dead in Jammu
BSF rescued 44 people after the swollen Chenab river breached its embankment and flooded Garkhal village near the Indo-Pak border in Jammu district.
Three people, including mother-daughter duo, died in Jammu region as rains kept wreaking havoc in the state on Wednesday.
“A woman and her daughter died after their house collapsed in the Sunderbani area of Rajouri district during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday,” said a police officer. The deceased were identified as Sita Devi, wife of Rattan Lal, and her daughter Sonia, of Tanda Kangri in Sunderbani, the officer added.
Rescue teams, along with police, rushed to the spot soon after the incident.
In another incident, the driver of a Tata Mobile load carrier was swept away in flashfloods at Ban Talab locality of Jammu City late Tuesday, said police.
The vehicle was being driven by Sham Lal of Gurah Brahmana in Ban Talab area. “The vehicle was washed away in an overflowing Nullah in Ban Talab area last night. Though the vehicle was found after search of nearly two hours, the body was found downstream from Akalpur village on Wednesday,” said a police officer.
Meanwhile, 44 people were rescued by the BSF after swollen Chenab river breached its embankment and inundated Garkhal village along the Indo-Pak international border in Jammu district. The BSF pressed its helicopters to service. In old Jammu city, three persons who were trapped after an old house collapsed due to heavy rains were rescued. The incident took place in Kali Janni Mohalla of Pacca Danga area. Police and local residents immediately launched a rescue operation and evacuated the trapped persons, they said.
“People rushed to the roofs and some were stuck inside their decrepit houses raising concern of their safety. After a hard toil, a team of BSF safely rescued all of them,” said the officer.
Since August 2 nearly 180 people have died across Jammu region in various rain related incidents.
Jammu-Srinagar NH, Mughal road blocked
The 250 km long Jammu-Srinagar national highway, called lifeline to Kashmir, was blocked at multiple places due to landslides, mudslides, shooting stones in Ramban and Udhampur districts.
Similarly, Mughal Road, Srinagar- Sonamarg Road and Sinthan Road are also closed for vehicular movement. However, Jammu-Pathankot national highway (NH44) remained functional despite inclement weather.
“At Sahar Khad in Kathua district and Vijaypur in Samba district where two bridges were recently damaged in flashfloods, the traffic movement is being managed on single tubes,” said an official.
Schools to remain closed till Friday
The directorate of school education has stated that all government and private schools across Jammu region shall continue to remain closed till Friday as a precautionary measure to ensure students’ safety.
Northern railway has announced cancellation of 68 incoming and outgoing trains from Jammu and Katra stations till September 30, while 24 trains were scheduled to resume.
Shuttle services of four trains that were introduced to help locals and stranded passengers travel between Jammu and Katra – the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine – were suspended due to heavy rain and flooding on Wednesday. The scheduled train services from New Delhi to Katra have also been short-terminated.
“The shuttle services between Jammu and Katra, which was started to facilitate the movement of daily passengers and stranded persons, have been cancelled today,” a railway official said. This step was taken in view of heavy rains and flooding of the track, he said.
Rail traffic in the Jammu railway division has been suspended for the past nine days due to misalignment and breaches caused by heavy rains and flash floods on August 26 on the Pathankot-Jammu section.
However, the Railways have been running special trains to ferry stranded passengers from Jammu to their destinations. Over the past four days, a total of 5,784 stranded passengers have been ferried in seven special trains.
The region had faced severe disruption of both rail and road traffic due to incessant rainfall since August 26, with many pilgrims getting stranded.
A landslide near the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra claimed 34 lives on August 26. The pilgrimage remained suspended for the ninth day on Wednesday.
Landslide blocks route to Vaishno Devi shrine
A landslide at Sammar Point blocked the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on Wednesday. Efforts were underway to clear the debris from the track.
Amid torrential rains, the BSF posts all along the 200 km long Indo-Pak international border have been marooned in rainy waters. The border fence and BSF posts have suffered extensive damage in Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts.
At least half a dozen rivers and rivulets like Chenab, Ravi, Tawi, Tarnah, Ujh, Maggar Khad, Sahar Khad and Devika were in spate. Amid heavy downpour, the BSF guards were seen wading through chest deep waters to guard the Indian territory.
MeT predicts improvement in weather
The Met department had forecast improvement in weather by Wednesday late afternoon and gradual improvement thereafter.
From Thursday to Sunday, the MeT department has forecast brief spell of rain and thunder at few places with moderate showers over few places of Jammu division.
Significant rainfall (mm) recorded since Wednesday morning 0830 hrs (8.30 AM) to 1430 hrs (2.30 PM) was Jammu observatory 31 mm, Jammu Bakore 56.5 mm, Samba 61 mm, Reasi 20 mm, Katra 27.3 mm, Bhaderwah 13 mm, Batote 22.4 mm, Doda 8 mm, Kishtwar 19 mm, Banihal 20 mm, Rajouri 6 mm, Pahlgam 8 mm, Kokernag 13.8 mm, Anantnag 13 mm, Srinagar observatory 7.6 mm,Qazigund 12.8 mm, respectively.
Woman delivers baby in train
A woman on Wednesday gave birth to a baby in a moving train near the Banihal station. Amid inclement weather, railway staff at Banihal railway station rushed the female passenger and her newborn baby to a local hospital, said officials. The passenger was accompanied by her husband. The family was between Sangaldan and Baramulla in Kashmir. Senior divisional commercial manager of Jammu division Uchit Singhal and Railway Area Manager of Kashmir Valley Saqib Yusuf praised the promptness and humanity of the passengers and railway employees.
Shrine board extends relief to landslide-hit families
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has undertaken a relief initiative as per the directions of LG Manoj Sinha to support more than 1,000 families affected by heavy rainfall and landslides in Katra and other parts of Reasi and Udhampur districts. Initially, a relief supply for 400 families was handed over to the district administration, Reasi to ensure timely distribution of relief material to affected families. The relief material includes dry ration kits, utensils, blankets, medicines, buckets, tarpaulin and tents etc. for addressing the immediate needs and helping them cope with the aftermath of the calamity.
