Bandipora, July 28: Large stretches of agricultural land were inundated and over 15 houses damaged following breach in rivers and irrigation canals due to floods in North Kashmir district of Bandipora.
During the past few days various parts of Bandipora like Ashtangoo, Malangam, Quail, Putushay, Mangnipora, Turkpora, Kema, Kanbathi, Aloosa Ghat, Paribal, Putushay and Doban were lashed by heavy rains.
Over 15 houses, three band saw mills and 50 cowsheds have been damaged.
“Floods have damaged paddy on thousands of acres but the actual loss will be evaluated after detailed survey,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ghulam Hassan Khan.
“We have deputed various teams of Flood Control, Revenue and Agriculture departments to evaluate the losses,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for PHE, Nasir Aslam Wani, along with Member Parliament Sharif-u-din Shariq today visited the flood hit villages. The Minister directed for immediate rehabilitation of the affected and also asked the Flood Control Department to undertake repairs of bunds on priority to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
 Talking to Greater Kashmir, Wani said, “The Government has prepared a plan to protect the people from floods along various rivers in the district.”
 “We are taking all safety measures and water level has also started receding in most parts of the district. We expect the situation to normalize by tomorrow,” said Sharif-u-din Shariq.

ARMY RESCUES FAMILIES
 A defence spokesman said Wednesday that army during the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday rescued 500 families caught in flash floods triggered by cloudburst and rains in the Rishi Canal in Bandipora district.
 The spokesman in a statement said that five square kilometre area of Malangan village was threatened by the flash floods in the canal.
 The worst hit areas were Sheikhmuquam and Turkpura. The spokesman said the rescue efforts continued till late in the night. Many survivors were shifted to a nearby raised ground where they will camp till water levels recedes in the area, he said.

13 HOUSES WASHED AWAY
At least 13 houses were washed away at Uri in north Kashmir’s Varmul district due to cloudburst.
Reports said that 13 houses were washed away by a breach in local Nallah triggered by a cloudburst last night in Maiyan area of Bijhama.
The locals told Greater Kashmir that nobody from the administration has come to their rescue and they spent night under open sky.

DAMAGE IN KUPWARA:
 Continuous rains have wreaked havoc in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. At least half a dozen houses and two bridges have been washed away by floods triggered by heavy rains. Several villages have been inundated and water is overflowing in Nallah Kahmil and Mawar, reports said.

HEAVY RAINS CREATE HAVOC IN POONCH, RAJOURI
 SHAFIQ MIR Adds from Rajouri: Unabated rains for the past 36 hours have created havoc in Poonch and Rajouri districts.
 Sources said a BSF trooper of 76 Bn, HC Narpat Singh, posted in Balakote sector of district Poonch died when his bunker collapsed. His colleague was critically injured; however he was rescued from the debris.
 Four persons were still trapped in different rivers. Deputy Commissioner Rajouri, Ghulam Ahmad Khwaja, said that one Abdul Hamid was trapped in Ans river of Budhal tehsil of the district. He said rescue teams have been pressed into service to save the trapped person.
 He said that red alert has been sounded in the entire district with the direction to all tehsil and block level officers to remain present at their respective places of posting. Khwaja said a coordination committee has been constituted with army to meet any challenge if the weather didn’t improve.
 Deputy Commissioner Poonch, Kuldeep Lal Khajuria, said three persons were trapped in Poonch river near Gulpur village.
 Beside, he said loss of property was reported from the district which includes four bridges and many government buildings. “We have also sounded red alert in the entire district,” said Khajuria. A large number of residential houses have also collapsed in the two districts.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST