Srinagar- Except for Kupwara and some low-lying areas, the threat of floods in Kashmir subsided on Tuesday as the water level in Jhelum and other water bodies in the valley began receding after the three-day incessant rainfall stopped late last night.
The officials said the water level at downstream locations along the river kept rising for a few hours and crossed the flood declaration mark at Pampore in Pulwama and Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar early Tuesday. But it has started to recede.
Meanwhile, the water level in river Jhelum late at night also crossed the flood declaration mark at Sangam in Anantnag district but when the rains stopped around 11.00 pm, the water level is receding now, officials said.
Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department Kashmir, Naresh Kumar said hat with a stop in rainfall for more than 12 hours, the water level in Jhelum and other tributaries except for Asham in north Kashmir has already begun to recede.
“We are in a safe situation, there is nothing to worry about. Although there was no imminent flood threat, caution was taken at full level. Barring Asham in north Kashmir which will also start receding, the water level in all water bodies is already receding,” he said.
Incessant rainfall since Friday have caused the water bodies in Kashmir to swell with the Pohru Nallah in the Kupwara district overflowing the banks, resulting in flash floods in the frontier district.
Meanwhile, CE I&FC Kashmir said that their men and machinery were on their toes and were constantly monitoring the situation during the whole night alongside divisional and district administrations.
“There were few isolated minor damages to Jhelum embankments at few places, and they were timely plugged in as well,” he said while urging people not to consider every rainfall as 2014 flood-like rainfall and to discourage the panic and fear among the people during these situations.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah visited the flood-affected areas in Kupwara and urged the government to compensate the losses suffered by the victims of the deluge in the area.
Many low-lying areas in Kashmir including Srinagar have been inundated by the accumulation of rainwater even as authorities tried to pump out the water.
Roads in many areas across the valley are waterlogged, causing problems for motorists.
Authorities in Kashmir closed all schools in the valley on Tuesday as a precautionary measure and the University of Kashmir has postponed all exams scheduled for the day.
4 Drown, One Feared Dead In Jammu
Four people drowned and one is feared dead in separate incidents after they fell into the swollen water bodies after heavy rainfall here, officials said on Tuesday.
The rainfall also triggered landslides at multiple places between Ramban and Banihal along the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway which remained closed for vehicular traffic for the second day, the officials said.
Mohammad Shafi (65) and Mumira Bano (17) accidentally fell into the fast-flowing waters while crossing the Deval and Dunga streams in Reasi, officials said. Shafi’s body was retrieved from the river, and efforts are on to locate Bano who had come from Gool to attend a marriage function in the village
Kaushal Kumar drowned while crossing a stream at Gadhi Garh in the outskirts of Jammu city. The In Doda district, the body of Firdous Ahmad (13), a resident of Mallan-Dessa, was fished out from Kund Nallah on Tuesday morning. He was crossing the stream when he was swept away by the strong current, they said.
In another incident, the body of Yaqood Mir (13) was retrieved from a river after he was hit by a rolling boulder from a hillock near his house in Karool area of Ramban, the officials said.
Heavy rains lashed wide parts of Jammu and Kashmir over the past couple of days, triggering landslides at many places and raising the level of water bodies. At least two dozen residential houses were damaged in Kishtwar and Ramban districts.
In the Poonch district, four school children and two women were rescued by locals after they were left stranded due to flash floods in a stream when they were attempting to cross at Kala Moda village in the Mendhar area on Monday evening, they said.
With the improvement in weather conditions on Tuesday, the officials said the restoration work on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was intensified to ensure its early opening for vehicular traffic.
The traffic on the 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was suspended from both the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar on Monday following landslides, mudslides and shooting stones at several places including Mehar, Panthiyal, Moum Passi and Kishtwari Pather. (With inputs from PTI, KNO)
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