Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district witnessed a cloudburst on the intervening night of Sunday causing flash floods as water entered into the residential areas. The cloudburst occurred in the Cherwan Kangan area of Ganderbal, damaging paddy fields and houses. Multiple vehicles have been reported stuck under the debris. Properties worth crores have been damaged due to the natural disaster.
The SSG Road near Padawbal has been blocked after the extremely heavy downpour overflowed the nearby canal resulting in an accumulation of mud on the road. Fortunately, no loss of life has been reported so far. According to local administrations, the prime focus is on clearing the road. Speaking about the cloudburst, SSP Ganderbal, Gulzar Ahmad says, "This cloudburst occurred in the intervening night of Sunday. Debris have been accumulated here, but with God's grace, no lives have been lost. Our priority is to clear the road... In those houses in which the debris has been entered, we rescued those people and shifted them to safer places. The district police, administration and private establishments are working in tandem. We will be able to clear it today only."
Highway closed
An official of the traffic control room said, "The traffic on Srinagar-Leh road has been suspended till further notice due to road damage at Kacherwan in Ganderbal district." The closure of the highway has cut off Kashmir valley from Ladakh Union Territory while the Baltal base camp for the Amarnath yatra has also been rendered inaccessible. Authorities are on the ground to provide help and assistance to those in need, the official added.
Cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh
Meanwhile, the rescue operation enters the fourth day in the bordering state of Himachal Pradesh, which also faced devastation due to cloudburst. As many as nine people have lost their lives so far while 45 people are missing. Out of a total of 45 missing, 30 are from the Samej district of the Rampur sub-division. As many as 114 roads have been blocked in the state with a maximum of 36 in Mandi, followed by 34 and 27 in Kullu and Shimla respectively. As per the state emergency operation centre, seventy-nine people in the state have lost their lives in rain-related incidents.
Both, Chief Minster Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu and former CM and LoP Jairam Thakur visited Samej village and met with the families of victims. CM Sukkhu announced an immediate relief of Rs 50,000 for the victims and said they would be given Rs 5,000 monthly for rent for the next three months along with gas, food and other essential items.
(with ANI Inputs)
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