Srinagar, Apr 29: Amid heavy rains across the J&K, a 10-year-old boy died after a rock damaged his house in Kalapani area of Satarsu in Ramban district Monday late afternoon, officials said.
The inclement weather has affected the normal life across the UT since yesterday as snow and rains triggered road blocks and floods in several parts of the region. Around a dozen structures including private and government have also been damaged.
In northern Kashmir’s Kupwara, over 330 families have been relocated and shifted to the neighbouring Handwara which too has been affected by the floods, but only partially.
Important highways across the region remain blocked. While in Srinagar, many roads are water clogged including important ones like Boulevard and Sanat Nagar.
Meanwhile several landslides were reported from different parts of the J-K too including the one in Ramban which killed the boy, whose many parts of the body are still missing, said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramban, Baseer-ul-Haq.
Another landslide destroyed one more residential house in Bujthala area of north Kashmir’s Uri where seven people were rescued from the debris.
“Seven persons were rescued after their house collapsed amid heavy rains in Bujhthala, tehsil Boniyar, Uri. Two injured have been shifted to the nearest medical facility for treatment,”siad Deputy Commissioner DC Baramulla, Minga Sherpa.
In northern Kashmir, several infrastructure including bridges, government office have also been damaged.
While the plains were affected by the rains, higher reaches witnessed a halt in normal life amid snow. They include: Machil (2 ft), Sadhna Top (2.5 ft), Sonamarg (3-4 inches), Tulail Gurez (1.5ft), Zojila Pass (1 ft), Gulmarg (2-3 inches), Pir Ki Gali (over 1 ft), Sinthan Top (over 1 ft), Razdan Pass (over 1ft).
During the last 24 hours, Srinagar has recorded a rainfall of 38.6mm while Qazigund and Pahalgam in south Kashmir have recorded a precipitation of 64.4 mm and 51.7 mm respectively.
According to the details, Kupwara in north Kashmir and Kokernag in south have recorded a rainfall of 4.2 mm and 43.6 mm rainfall respectively, reported news agency KNO.
However, the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, V K Bidhuri while directing district officers to remain alert round the clock has asked people not to panic as “there is still room for buffer in-case of alarming flow of water bodies in the Valley.
He said that although the rainfall was predicted to continue tonight, its intensity is hoped to deteriorate.
Director Meteorological department (MeT), Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that the intensity of rains have decreased in a number of areas this evening and there is a forecast of dry spell from May 01-May 05.
He added that the weather is expected to remain wet till late evening and a light spell of rain is expected tomorrow as well.
However, as per the advisory issued by MeT, the farmers have been advised to suspend farm operations till tomorrow.
Meanwhile amid rains, water levels of Jhelum, its tributaries and other local streams & Nallas are expected to rise, the advisory reads.
However, the fresh wet spell has not affected the power supply anywhere across Kashmir, the government has said.
Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) Chief Engineer, Sandeep Seth told KNO that the power supply remains uninterrupted across Kashmir valley till Monday late evening.
“As per our assessment, we have distributed over 1300 Megawatts of power on Monday that depicts there are no issues or any major fault in electricity in almost all parts of the valley,” he said.
On asking about the precautionary measures in view of incessant rains in Kashmir valley, the Chief Engineer said that we are monitoring the situation round the clock. “We deal issues in accordance to the weather situations.”