Heavy rains lash Jammu, traffic suspended on Jammu-Srinagar national highway

Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended, while authorities ordered closure of schools in Doda and Kishtwar districts as heavy rains lashed wide parts of Jammu region overnight, officials said on Wednesday. The chopper and battery car service at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district was also suspended due to the inclement weather, they said. Heavy rains lashed wide parts of Jammu division overnight, triggering mudslides and landslides at several places along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district, forcing authorities to suspend traffic, the officials said. “The highway is still blocked and people are advised not to travel till the restoration work is completed,” a traffic department official said.

The officials said the traffic on Jammu-Pathankot highway was also diverted in Kathua district where two pillars of a bridge suffered damages due to flash floods in Tarnah nallah. The officials said all government and private schools were closed for the day in Doda and Kishtwar district as a precautionary measure. The decision was taken for the safety of the students as the water level in Chenab river and its tributaries is on the rise amid continuous rainfall, they said. Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi shrine, received 315.4 mm rainfall, an all-time high, a spokesperson of the meteorological department said. “This is the heaviest rainfall since 1980,” the spokesperson said.

While the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage is going on smoothly, the new battery car track to the shrine was closed in view of the apprehension of the shooting of stones and landslide, the officials said. They said the helicopter service to the shrine was also suspended due to inclement weather. The rivers and rivulets in many places, especially in Kathua and Samba districts have reached close to or crossed the flood alert level with the weather office predicting more rains till noon.

“The flood situation is grim in Kathua and Samba as all the rivers including Ujh in Kathua and Basantar have crossed flood alert mark, while the water level in Tawi, Chenab and its tributaries in Jammu are nearing the flood alert level,” an official said.