Five persons were killed and scores of houses were damaged in landslips triggered by a heavy spell of rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
Five persons were buried alive in two houses in Kathua’s Bani, as landslips resulted in the collapsing of the structures. Police said the five included three children and one woman. Two bodies of the victims, Tabseem Bano and Mohammad Arif, were recovered. However, three remained buried under the debris. A rescue operation is under way in the area, which is in the upper reaches, officials said.
In two separate incidents of land sliding, two persons, including a student, were killed in Kathua’s Bani and Sera areas. “Rescue teams have been deputed to these areas,” Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Bani, Satish Kumar said.
Districts of the Jammu province received a heavy spell of rainfall in the past 36 hours. According to the meteorological department, Katra district recorded 315.4 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours, highest since 1980.
The rains had most rivers in spate, including Tawi, Chenab, Basanter, Devak and Ujj. Schools in Kishtwar, Doda, Rajouri and upper reaches of Kathua were closed.
Pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi and the Amarnath cave shrine was affected due to the inclement weather.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, also member of Parliament from Udhampur-Kathua, said his office was constantly following up the matter for expeditious repair and redressal.
In an advisory, the Kathua administration asked locals not to move towards streams as “most rivers and nallahs were continuously rising”.
Scores of houses were also damaged in the Chenab valley due to landslips. Meanwhile, Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, called for swift restoration of essential services affected by the inclement weather.
“Repair of damaged roads, disrupted water supply, and power outages are being prioritised,” Mr. Kumar said.
In anticipation of landslips in hilly districts, Mr. Kumar asked the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Public Works Department (PWD), National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) department to keep their men and machinery on standby for road clearance operations.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department, Srinagar, on Wednesday predicted more rains from July 20 to 22.
“Intermittent light to moderate rain accompanied by thundershowers would be observed at many places of Jammu and scattered places of Kashmir,” the department said.
