Srinagar-Leh highway shut after cloudburst in Kashmir's Ganderbal
A cloudburst in Cherwan Kangan area of Kashmir's Ganderbal district caused damage to paddy fields while several vehicles got stuck in debris.
A cloudburst incident in the Cherwan Kangan area of Ganderbal district in Jammu and Kashmir has led to the blockage of the vital Srinagar-Kargil road. The Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumuri (SSG) road near Padawbal has also been blocked after an overflow from a nearby canal led to an accumulation of mud on the road.
The road clearance operations are currently underway.
The cloudburst has caused extensive damage to the region, affecting paddy fields and trapping several vehicles in the debris.
“This cloudburst occurred in the intervening night of Sunday. Debris has accumulated here, but with God's grace, no lives have been lost,” Gulzar Ahmad, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Ganderbal, said.
“Our priority is to clear the road. In those houses where the debris has entered, we rescued the residents and shifted them to safer places. The district police, administration, and private establishments are working in tandem. We will be able to clear it today,” he added.
Authorities have advised commuters to avoid travelling on the affected road until the clearance operations are completed.
Ganderbal SDM Bilal Mukhtar said that the houses in low-lying areas have been damaged, and the authorities are assessing the situation.
"Srinagar- Leh highway has been closed and I'll advise people who are travelling on the Srinagar-Leh route and those who are on Amarnath Yatra to be informed about the situation and wait for the update from the district administration," he added.
Cloudburst incidents in Himachal, Uttarakhand
Meanwhile, search and rescue operations are underway in Samej village near Rampur in Shimla district following catastrophic cloudbursts across Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh said on Saturday that around 50 people are feared dead, with the official toll pending confirmation and the conclusion of rescue efforts.
Singh said that the government's top priority is to retrieve the bodies and restore connectivity in the affected areas of the state as soon as possible.
Rescue and relief efforts have also been intensified in Uttarakhand following a devastating cloudburst and landslides along the Kedarnath Yatra route, which claimed 15 lives. On Saturday, over 1,500 pilgrims and locals were rescued from the affected areas by NDRF and SDRF personnel. Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said that a total of 9,099 people have been rescued along the Kedarnath Yatra route.