Heavy rains spurred flash floods in Romushi Nallah in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday. An official of the Revenue Department said that a diversion connecting Rohmoo village with several areas falling under central Kashmir’s Budgam district was washed away by flash floods.
However, he said that the situation was under control. Naib Tehsildar Rohmoo, Faiz Ahmad Faiz told that three cows were stuck in the middle of the river when the flash floods hit. He said that they soon launched a rescue operation and saved the animals from being washed away.
The official said that the joint teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army, Police, and Locals took part in the rescue operation. He said that no loss of life or property was reported from the area. The official said that Police had been deployed in the area to prevent people from going closer to the swollen river.
Meanwhile, a man was rescued in Dubragm village from being washed away. A Meteorological Department (MeT) official said that J&K received heavy overnight rainfall, inundating many lanes, and by lanes of several areas.
The areas like Mehjoor Nagar, Bemina, and HMT in Srinagar and other areas were waterlogged as rain water accumulated on the streets. The MeT official said that Pahalgam received the highest amount of precipitation in the last 24 hours with 34.9 mm.
Other areas also received rainfall including Bhaderwah with 19.8 mm, Jammu with 14 mm, Katra with 12.8 mm, Batote with 6.6 mm, Banihal and Kokernag with 6 mm each, Qazigund with 1.6 mm, Gulmarg with 0.8 mm, and Srinagar with traces.
The MeT official said that the forecast for Sunday included generally cloudy weather with one to two spells of rain in most places in Kashmir and scattered places in the Jammu region during the forenoon. “From July 17 to 20, rain and thunderstorms are expected in scattered areas of J&K during early morning, late afternoon, and evening,” he said. “From July 21 to 22, intermittent light to moderate rain and thunderstorms are expected in scattered places across J&K.”
The official said that there was no forecast of major rainfall until July 25.
Meanwhile, Srinagar recorded a low of 21.6 degrees Celsius, higher than the previous night’s 20.2 degrees Celsius, and 3.5 degrees Celsius above the normal.
Qazigund had a low of 19.4 degrees Celsius, 2.7 degrees Celsius above normal.
Pahalgam recorded a low of 16.2 degrees Celsius, 4.2 degrees Celsius above normal. In Kupwara, the temperature settled at 17.9 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees Celsius above normal.
Kokernag had a low of 18.8 degrees Celsius, 1.9 degrees Celsius above normal.
Gulmarg recorded a low of 14 degrees Celsius, 2.2 degrees Celsius above normal.
Jammu had a low of 25.1 degrees Celsius, 0.3 degrees Celsius above normal.
Banihal, Batote, Katra, and Bhaderwah had lows of 20.5 degrees Celsius, 19.6 degrees Celsius, 22.2 degrees Celsius, and 18.3 degrees Celsius.
On Saturday, Mendhar town witnessed heavy rains, causing flooding in the main market. Water entered shops, damaging traders’ property and goods worth lakhs of rupees. Due to clogged drains, water was flowing through the lanes and main bazaar, particularly on Dak Bungalow Road, Sangala Chowk, and Hakin Morh.
The water level rose to 1.5 ft to 2 ft in many places, resulting in damaged goods and shops. Aghast local traders protested and accused the sub divisional administration and the Rural Development Department (RDD) of failing to divert rainwater despite repeated requests.
The locals expressed resentment against the authorities for not clearing the drains before the rainy season as requested by the Beopar Mandal. The continuous rainfall worsened the situation, with roads in the town becoming inundated and causing inconvenience to the residents.
The blocked drainage system led to waterlogging and inundation throughout the markets in Mendhar town. On Sunday, the Traffic Police informed the public that the Mughal Road was blocked in the Ratta Chamb area due to a landslide and advised people to avoid traveling until the restoration work was completed.
