Incessant rains, snowfall on higher reaches across J&K; MeT predicts improvement in weather from today
Two rain-related deaths reported from Ramban and Doda
Srinagar: Heavy downpours at multiple places, intermittent rains, and a fresh spell of snowfall on Monday affected normal life across Jammu & Kashmir on Monday.
Reports reaching here said many areas were also cut off with the rest of the Valley as the major roads and the highways remained closed due to rain and snow.
Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Baseer-ul-Haq Chowdery said that a boy aged between 9-10 years lost his life after a rock fell on a residential house in Kalapani, Satarsu area of Ramban late afternoon. “A house where two-three families were living got damaged after a rock fell on it, leaving a minor boy dead, whose hand has been retrieved so far,” he said, adding that the rescue operation has been launched to trace the body of minor Yaqoob Mir, son of Ghulam Hassan Mir.
In a similar incident, the landslide damaged a residential house in Bujthala area of Uri in north Kashmir where eight persons were buried under the debris. The locals rescued them.
Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Minga Sherpa wrote on X: “Team of Dist Admin B’la @BaramullaPolice & Lachhipura Battalion of @ChinarcorpsIA along with locals rescued 7 persons trapped under debris after their house collapsed due to heavy rains in Bujhthala, Tehsil Boniyar, Uri. Two persons injured in the incident are being shifted to the nearest medical facility for treatment.”
A minor boy slipped to death in Kunda Nallah in Doda district on Monday. An official said that 12-years-old class 8th student, Firdous Ahmed, son of Mohammad Qasim Gujjar, resident of Kunda, Mallan, slipped and was washed away in the waters of Kunda Nallah, news agency Kashmir Scroll reported.
He said that a rescue operation was started to trace the body and was continuing till late in the evening without much success.
Amidst the persistent wet spell, several areas of J&K received fresh snowfall — including 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), Pahalgam (3-4 inches), while rains lashed the plains including Srinagar, leading to severe water-logging in several areas as well as on the city roads.
During the last 24 hours, Srinagar recorded a rainfall of 38.6mm while Qazigund and Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded a precipitation of 64.4 mm and 51.7 mm respectively.
Director of Meteorological Department (MeT), Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that the intensity of rains has decreased in a number of areas this evening, and there is a forecast for dry spell from May 1 to May 5.
He added that the weather is expected to remain wet till late evening and a light spell of rain is expected tomorrow as well.
From left to right: Water logging in Pulwama and Srinagar and snowfall in Pahalgam. PICS: Nisar ul Haq, Farooq Javed, Sahil Shah
Kashmir Images is an English language daily newspaper published from Srinagar (J&K), India. The newspaper is one of the largest circulated English dailies of Kashmir and its hard copies reach every nook and corner of Kashmir Valley besides Jammu and Ladakh region.
