Flash floods kill 3 more in region

Flash floods kill 3 more in region
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 12
Three more persons, including a five-year-old boy of Billawar tehsil in Kathua district, were washed away in flash floods in the Jammu region today.

A man was washed away in the Tawi near the main bridge around 2.45 pm. The police launched a rescue operation, but was unable to recover the body till reports last came in.

Yoginder Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, drowned in a canal in Trikuta Nagar here.In another incident,the body of five-year-old Sunil Singh of Dhar Dugnoo village, who was trapped in a seasonal rivulet in Billawar tehsil yesterday, was recovered today.

A senior police officer said 50 persons, living in shanties in the Sidhra area here, were rescued from a flash flood. Five others were rescued from Utter Vehini near Vijaypur in Samba district. The flash flood also blocked traffic on link roads in the hill areas, which included Bani-Basohli and Billawar-Katli. Traffic on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway was also affected for sometime.

Meanwhile, a number of houses collapsed and rainwater flooded many low-lying localities here, which hampered the restoration work. The power supply to some areas was also affected.

“Though the officials have been sent to restore the power supply, yet the continuous rain has delayed the restoration work. A number of transformers have been damaged and the assessment of the loss will take some time, as reports from the remote areas are yet to come,” said Shahnaz Goni, Chief Engineer, PDD, and added, “The Circular road and Gummat road were among the worst affected areas, while Vijaypur and Ramnagar cities also suffered a huge loss.”

Officials of the PWD restored traffic on both the routes, leading to Nagrota via Panjtirthi and the Manda forest, after clearing the debris and removing the vehicles stuck in the sludge.

A large number of people, who suffered losses due to the flash flood and rain, met senior officials of the administration and apprised them of the losses.

The water level in the Chenab at Akhnoor also increased and reached up to 26 ft, almost three feet above the normal. A few flights also got delayed.

Sonam Lotus, in-charge, Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Indian Meteorological Department said, “More showers are expected in the coming few hours as the monsoon is in full swing now.”

“The people living in the low-lying areas should remain alert,” Sonam added.