Minister to survey flood-hit J-K aerially today
JAMMU: With as many as 68 persons killed on Friday , the death toll in the worst floods in Jammu and Kashmir in nearly six decades has reached 88.
To review the situation, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and MoS in the PMO Jitendra Singh will visit the state tomorrow.
Total of 64 persons have died in the Jammu region on Friday in flash floods, house collapses and landslides, state officials said here, while four have lost their lives in Kashmir.
Twenty people died in Rajouri in flash floods, landslides and house collapses, SSP Rajouri Mubasir Lattifi said, adding that 13 of them perished in house collapse triggered by landslide in Thanamandi belt.
Besides, 25 bodies were recovered from yesterday’s bus mishap in which 63 members of a marriage party were washed away in Rajouri District, the SSP said.
In Poonch District, 12 people have died taking the total of deaths in the district to 19, officials said.
In Reasi District, four people died on Friday taking the toll to 10, the officials said, adding one died in Udhampur District and the bodies of two people who were washed away have been recovered from a canal in Jammu.
With this the total deaths in the Jammu region has gone up to 78.
Four people were washed away in Kashmir on Friday, taking the toll to 10 in the Valley. Three persons were washed away by strong currents in Sukhnaq Nalla in central Kashmir Budgam district while another youth was drowned in Vishnu Nalla in south Kashmir Kulgam District, police said.
With Friday’s deaths, a total of 88 people have died in the state hit by floods and landslides due to incessant rains since Wednesday.
As many as 6,000 people were rescued from flash floods in various areas by teams of Army and Air Force.
Over 3,000 people from 20 villages have been evacuated from Pargwal and Munawar Tawi belt in view of areas getting inundated by swollen Chenab river in Jammu and one thousand from other districts thereby dislocating and displacing 10,000 people.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake an aerial survey of flood affected areas in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to assess the situation there.
Accompanied by Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh, the Home Minister will arrive in Srinagar in the morning and first hold a review meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and state government officials before going for the aerial survey in the affected districts, a Home Ministry official said.
After the survey, the Home Minister would arrive in Jammu, where he will meet representatives of the state government and take stock of the situation, following an aerial survey of flood affected areas of Rajouri and Poonch Districts, he added.
Flood situation has worsened in the last two days in Jammu and Kashmir where several rivers have been flowing above the danger mark and most parts of south Kashmir, including Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam District have been submerged.
The water level in Rambiara stream in Shopian District was also seen rising fast. Flood situation in Rajouri, Reasi and Udhampur Districts continues to be grim.
The Home Minister would also be accompanied by Secretary (Border Management) Snehlata Kumar and Additional Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for the second day along with several inter-districts roads in Doda, Ramban, Rajouri and Poonch District.