Jammu-Srinagar national highway shut due to landslides in Udhampur

 

 

 

THE Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed for traffic for the third consecutive day on Thursday due to multiple landslides triggered by heavy rains in the Udhampur-Ramban belt, officials said. Due to the closure of the highway, over 500 to 600 vehicles are stranded at various places en route. The 270-km-long stretch, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was blocked by multiple landslides at several places between Jakheni and Chenani in Udhampur, they said. “Highway is closed for vehicular movement from Jakheni in Udhampur towards Srinagar due to damage at several places between Jakheni and Chenani. No vehicular movement shall be allowed from Nagrota in Jammu towards Reasi, Chenani, Patnitop, Doda, Ramban, Banihal, Srinagar,” a traffic police official said.

 

He said commuters belonging to Katra and Udhampur towns are requested to keep their photo ID cards to prove their identity so that their movement can be facilitated smoothly. The men and machines of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working to clear the highway of blockades, which occurred on Tuesday following heavy rains and flash floods, they said. According to the traffic advisory, the Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag highway is closed for vehicular movement. It said subject to fair weather and good road condition, and after getting a green signal from the BRO, traffic movement shall be allowed in a regulated manner on the Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumari road. LMVs followed by HMVs shall be allowed from Sonamarg towards Kargil between 1130 hours and 1730 hours. “No vehicle shall be allowed after the cut-off timing. Security forces convoys plying from Srinagar to Kargil and vice versa shall plan their movement in such a manner so that civil traffic is not disturbed,” the advisory said. Floodwater inflows rising in Krishna, Godavari rivers in Andhra Pradesh: THE Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) on Thursday said floodwaters are rising in both Krishna and Godavari rivers, with the former clocking an inflow and outflow of 4.05 lakh cusecs and the latter 5.31 lakh cusecs.

 

Amid heavy rainfall at various places in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Krishna river at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada received inflows and outflows amounting to 4.05 lakh cusecs and the Godavari river at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram in East Godavari district 5.31 lakh cusecs. “First level warning has been issued at Prakasam Barrage. Inflows and outflows at Prakasam Barrage were 4.05 lakh cusecs,” said APSDMA managing director Prakhar Jain in an official release. As floodwaters gushed intensely at Prakasam Barrage, they were recorded at 3.62 lakh cusecs by 10.45 am itself today, he said. At Srisailam Dam, Krishna river floodwater inflows were recorded at 3.06 lakh cusecs and outflows at 3.62 lakh cusecs, followed by inflows of 2.69 lakh cusecs and outflows of 3.17 lakh cusecs at Nagarjuna Sagar and inflows of 3.13 lakh cusecs and outflows of 3.72 lakh cusecs at Pulichintala, Jain said. Noting that floodwater inflows are rising slightly in the Godavari river, he said its water level at Bhadrachalam in Telangana stood at 37.7 ft, followed by a water level of 15.78 metres at Kunavaram and 10.16 metres at Polavaram. 

 

 

RESCUE and relief operations were carried out in the flood-hit areas across districts in Punjab on Thursday, even as several villages and low-lying areas remained submerged. The district administrations, with the help of Army, National Disaster Relief Force, Border Security Force and state agencies, continued rescue operations even as the situation remained grim. The Amritsar district administration evacuated several people, including women, children and elderly, who were stranded in the swamped villages of Ramdas area. Amphibious all-terrain vehicles, or ATORs, and boats were deployed to rescue stranded people in the area, which was inundated by the rising waters of River Ravi. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, accompanied by Jalandhar Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural) Maninder Singh and Additional Deputy Commissioner Rohit Gupta, supervised the rescue operation, said an official. Among the villages affected were Ghonewala, Machhiwala, Mangu Naru, Shahzada, Jattan, Kot Gurbaksh, Pashian, Nissoke, Singhoke, Mehmad, Mundranwala, Ghaggar, Dharmabad, Ramdass, Shampura, Nangal Sohal, Rurewal, Pandori, Langarpur, Galib, and Bedi Channa.

 

 

HEAVY rains lashed several parts of Karnataka on Thursday morning, leading to the IMD issuing orange and yellow alerts in various districts, holiday for educational institutions and authorities taking precautionary measures across multiple districts. An orange alert denotes “very heavy” rainfall of 11 to 20 cm, while a yellow alert signals “heavy rain” between 6 and 11 cm. In Bidar district, overnight rainfall in Aurad taluk caused water to overflow on several bridges, including Dadagi bridge in Badalgaon-Chondimukhed in Bhalki taluk, forcing a complete closure to traffic. A stream at Narayanpur village in Aurad taluk was also reported in spate. Bidar Deputy Commissioner Shilpa Sharma declared a holiday for schools and colleges in affected areas as a safety measure.