Incessant rain across Jammu kills two, destroys 50 houses

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 27

Two persons, including an employee of Punjab National Bank (PNB), lost their lives in two separate incidents of heavy rain across the Jammu region in the past 24 hours.

According to the police, a PNB employee, identified as Sudhir Choudhary (26), resident of Raghunath Pura Shiv Nagar, Udhampur, was killed while three others sustained injuries when a boulder hit their vehicle near the Kheri area on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The deceased was on his way to Samroli (the place of his posting) from Udhampur in a car when the incident took place.

In another incident, a 40-year-old man, Mohammad Yaqoob, resident of Kanou Kither, got washed away in flash floods in the Bunjwah area of Kishtwar.

Incessant rain continued to wreak havoc across the Jammu region for the second consecutive day, causing damage to over 50 houses, while over 35 persons stuck in flash floods were rescued from different parts of the region.

Bank employee among victims

• A Punjab National Bank employee, Sudhir Choudhary (26), resident of Udhampur, was killed while three others sustained injuries when a boulder hit their vehicle near the Kheri area on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
• A 40-year-old man, Mohammad Yaqoob, resident of Kanou Kither, got washed away in flash floods in the Bunjwah area of Kishtwar.

NH remains blocked

• The Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed for the third straight day.
• “We could not carry out restoration work due to heavy rain. The highway has been blocked at six to seven locations,” PK Phonsa, Project Director, NHAI, Ramban sector, said.

“Around 20 houses have suffered damage in heavy rain. We have requisitioned the help of the Army to rescue four trapped persons in the Salhotri area. We also received information that two persons went for grazing of cattle on the river bank in Khanetar area and got trapped there. We are on job to rescue them as well,” Rahul Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, told The Tribune.

“Seven persons, including three children, were rescued by the police with the help of the Indian Air Force during a 30 hour-long rescue operation,” said SSP, Kathua, Shailendra Mishra.

Four residential houses suffered damage in the Billawar area of Kathua, while paddy crop grown on 100 kanals of land in the Chaba Chak area was inundated by flood water.

Similarly, there were reports of damages to several houses in Ramban district where the Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed for the third straight day. “We could not carry out restoration work due to heavy rain. The highway has been blocked at six to seven locations,” PK Phonsa, Project Director, NHAI, Ramban sector, said.

The main road between Kishtwar and Paddar was also closed due to a major landslide in the Naiegad Padriyana area. In Udhampur district, 10 major roads and 44 other roads constructed under the PMGSY were closed due to landslides, while 14 houses suffered damage in the district.

The DC, Reasi, Indu Kanwal Chib, said the standing crops in two panchayats were damaged in heavy rain.

Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control, Jammu, Hamesh Manchanda said the situation was under control so far though the water level in major rivers and streams across the Jammu region rose due to heavy rain.

Chief Engineer, PDD, Jammu, Gurmeet Singh disclosed that nearly 77 transformers were damaged during the last 48 hours. Out of them 44 were replaced.