Jammu-Srinagar NH blocked due to landslide in Ramban

Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was blocked due to landslide in Ramban area on Sunday, police said. Police issued an advisory stating that people should avoid the route till the restoration work is completed on the stretch. In this regard, the official media handle of Jammu and Kashmir police took to Twitter and said," Traffic update at 0630 hrs: Jammu-Srinagar NHW blocked due to landslide at T2. People are advised not to travel until restoration work is completed."Earlier on July 19 the National Highway-44 in Ramban district was blocked due to shooting stones and mud slush. "NH-44 is blocked at certain places due to mud slush and shooting stones. People are advised to avoid travelling, till road clearance works are executed," tweeted Deputy Commissioner Ramban.

Haryana receives 59 per cent excess rain in July, Punjab 44 per cent Chandigarh

Haryana and Punjab, which were recently hit by floods in several parts, logged over 40 per cent excess rains in July, the Meteorological Department here said. While Haryana recorded 59 per cent excess rainfall, Punjab logged an excess of 44 per cent, it added. Union Territory Chandigarh, the common capital of both states, received 170 per cent excess rainfall in July, a MeT official told PTI.

As against the normal of 273.2 mm for the period, Chandigarh received 738.7 mm of rainfall. In July, the city even recorded an all-time high of 302.2 mm in a span of 24 hours, the official said. According to the MeT official, Haryana witnessed 237.1 mm of rainfall in July, compared to its average of 149.1 mm -- an excess of 59 per cent. Over the same period, Punjab recorded 231.8 mm of rainfall, against the normal of 161.4 mm -- 44 per cent excess. None of the districts in Haryana saw deficit rain in July, while Panchkula and Yamunanagar were the wettest districts, the MeT data showed. Panchkula recorded 681.1 mm of rainfall during the period, as against the normal of 323 mm -- 111 per cent excess. Likewise, the rainfall n Yamunanagar stood at 681.1 mm, against the average of 293 mm -- 75 per cent excess.

Ambala logged a 75 per cent excess with 513.9 mm rains against 293 mm, while Kurukshetra recorded 276 per cent excess with 521.1 mm rainfall compared to the normal of 138.5 mm. Other Haryana districts witnessing excess rainfall in July are Panipat (98 per cent), Karnal (97 per cent), Kaithal (92 per cent), and Gurugram (24 per cent).In Punjab, Ferozepur got 165 per cent more rain, recording 258.2 mm of rainfall. Faridkot received 256.2 mm rains against 107 mm -- 139 per cent excess, while Mohali logged 472.6 mm rains against the average of 208.7 mm -- an excess of 126 per cent. Patiala and Rupnagar saw an excess of 71 per cent and 107 per cent.

Among other Punjab districts, Tarn Taran and Jalandhar received 151 per cent and 34 per cent excess rains in July. However, a few districts in the state witnessed deficient rains in this period. Barnala received 86.6 mm as against a normal of 122.1 mm --deficient by 29 per cent, while Fazilka and Muktsar recorded a deficit of 58 per cent and 60 per cent, the MeT official said. Notably, the floods last month in several parts of Punjab and Haryana claimed over 80 lives in these states and caused huge damage to crops and property.