Flood threat in Kashmir subsides as water levels recede
Contesting candidates from north Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, Sajad Lone visit flood-affected areas of Kupwara
Srinagar: Barring 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 after the rains stopped around 11.00 pm, the water level is receding now, officials 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.
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.
“It seems we have not learned any lessons from 2014. The climate is changing. Places like Dubai, which is a desert, received rainfall equivalent to 18 months in just one day. We will have to change ourselves according to the changing climate,” he said.
“Besides providing compensation to the victims, the government should take measures to effectively deal with such eventualities,” he said.
People’s Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone also visited the flood-affected areas of Kupwara and Handwara.
Abdullah and Lone are contesting elections from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency which is going to polls on May 20.
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.
Meanwhile, though the weather conditions improved in Kashmir today, the Valley continued to remain cut off as the major roads and highways continued to remain closed for vehicular movement for the second straight day.
The officials said that the stranded vehicles from Banihal towards Jammu and Nashri towards Srinagar were allowed to ply, but the fresh traffic was not allowed to ply today as the restoration work was going on.
The men and machinery have been pressed to restore the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at several places including Dalwas, Mehad and Magarkote, the officials said.
However, they said that the other roads including Mughal Road, Bandipora-Gurez, Sadhna Top Road, Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri (SSG) Road and Bhaderwah-Chamba Road continued to remain closed for vehicular movement today.
Meanwhile, the Director Meteorological Department, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that the weather conditions are expected to remain dry from tomorrow till May 05.
He told KNO that while the weather would remain mostly dry from May 01-May 05, the possibility of afternoon thundershowers cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, he added that there is forecast of light rains again on May 06.
A view of Jhelum beneath Zero Bridge on Tuesday. Photo: Farooq Javed
