Bridge on Jammu-Pathankot road collapses in flash floods
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 9
Flash floods triggered by overnight rain damaged bridges, land and houses across the Jammu region today.

The flash floods led to the collapse of the Devak bridge on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway in Samba district this morning.

A police officer said there was no loss of life as the bridge had recently been closed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for carrying out repairs.

MK Jain, in charge, NHAI, said, “The bridge,built in 1964,was closed to traffic some time ago. The overnight rain damaged its five pillars. We have called our engineers from Delhi to check whether the bridge can be repaired or there is a need to construct a new one”.

This was the second bridge on the national highway to have collapsed in flash floods.

Meanwhile, flash floods also caused damage in Rajouri district, where a number of houses collapsed last night.

A senior police officer told The Tribune over the phone that the worst-affected villages were Sadyal, Mankot and Ninga Narh.

He said senior officials of the district administration visited the area to take stock of the situation and assured compensation to the affected families.

Jammu district also witnessed mild showers last night, which led to a fall in the temperature.

The collapse The bridge was built in 1964. It was closed some time ago by the NHAI for carrying out repairs. The overnight rain damaged its five pillars. This was the second bridge on the national highway to have collapsed in flash floods