2 killed, no power in many parts of South, Central Kashmir
Jhelum breached danger mark at several places in Kashmir. According to J&K’s Irrigation and Flood Control department, Jhelum was flowing at 25.51 ft at Sangam in South Kashmir’s Bijbehara as against the flood alert level of 21 ft and danger mark of 25 ft.
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A portion of the Jammu-Srinagar NH collapses in Udhampur on Wednesday. (ANI)Water levels of both Jhelum and Chenab flowed dangerously high Wednesday as heavy rain continued to batter the UT, prompting evacuations at several places. The rising water levels has prompted the J&K government under Omar Adbullah to go into a huddle.
Jhelum breached danger mark at several places in Kashmir. According to J&K’s Irrigation and Flood Control department, Jhelum was flowing at 25.51 ft at Sangam in South Kashmir’s Bijbehara as against the flood alert level of 21 ft and danger mark of 25 ft.
The water level at Pampore has also breached the danger mark at 5.19M against the 4.5M and 5M flood alert and danger level. Meanwhile, Chenab was at 43.5 ft in the evening — about 1.5 ft above the evacuation level.
With the UT’s rivers in spate, several areas are now flooded. In Kulgam district, the Vishow stream, one of the major tributaries of Jhelum, has flooded several areas. The I&FC data shows that at 2 pm, Vishow was overflowing at Khudwani at 11.20 M as against the flood alert level of 7.75M and damage mark of 8.50M.
The water level in the Doodhganga canal, which originates from upper reaches of Budgam and flows through Srinagar, has also risen dangerously, forcing the administration to divert its water through the flood spill channel.
With Jhelum water still rising, several areas of South and Central Kashmir now stare at floods, with electricity snapped off at several places.
Kashmir had last seen devastating floods in 2014.
However, according to officials, there is no need to panic just yet, especially for Srinagar. “The water levels are increasing but it would be an exaggeration to compare it with 2014 water levels,” an official said. “We still have a good water holding capacity in Dal Lake and can divert some water to the flood spill channel as well. As of now, our focus is south Kashmir.”
In Jammu, the rain and flash floods have also disrupted rail and road services. With several tracks under water, the Northern Railways has suspended shuttle services of four trains between Jammu and Katra, and short terminated trains from New Delhi to Katra.
Seven special trains in last four days have ferried 5,784 stranded passengers from Jammu to their destinations, officials said.
Meanwhile, a mother and daughter were killed after their house collapsed in Rajouri district’s Kangri village near Sunderbani. They have been identified as Sita Devi and her daughter Sonia. On Wednesday, CM Omar Abdullah told his administration to “stay on high alert, intensify ground response and to ensure timely evacuation” from critical areas.
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