Baramulla: A windstorm blew away rooftops of scores of residential and non-residential buildings and uprooted scores of trees and electric poles in different parts of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday.
High-intensity winds swept Baramulla, Sopore, Pattan and other adjoining areas of the north district today afternoon in which several residential houses and commercial structures were damaged. Vehicular traffic on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway was disrupted after some poplar trees uprooted by winds blocked it. Some vehicles were also damaged after coming under the falling trees.
“Dozens of poplar, Chinar, apple, walnut and other trees were uprooted and fruit orchards suffered massive damage. Poplar trees uprooted on Srinagar- Muzzafarabad highway blocked traffic at Hanjiwvera, Pattan, Kantbagh and several others,” eyewitnesses said.
“In Kreeri, one Naseema Begum, wife of Abdul Majeed Mir, sustained injuries after being hit by some rubble blown away by the wind. She was shifted to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar for medical help. It was like a doomsday in Kreeri,” said a fruit vendor Mohammad Iqbal.
In Heewan village, the house of one Abdul Hameed Sheikh, son of Abdul Rahman Sheikh, lost its roof to the winds. “It was a terrifying experience. The winds were so strong that the rooftop was completely blown away,” Sheikh lamented.
“All of us were horrified. It looked as if the world would end. Literally, everything shook around. Children got frightened in my school,” a government teacher Mushtaq Ahmed Wani said.
The power supply in parts of Baramulla and Sopore was also snapped due to the breaking of poles and cables. However, no casualty was reported, said a police official.
The electricity supply was restored in the evening after the field staff of the Power department carried out repairs.
The Kanthbagh area and the Medical College Baramulla suffered a power outage after a falling tree damaged power infrastructure, affecting hospital operations besides leaving a significant portion of the locality without electricity. Despite concerted efforts by the Power Department and the Army, power was not restored till late in the evening at the time this report was being written. A lineman from the Electricity department was also injured during restoration efforts.
