STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Four people drowned and one is feared dead in separate incidents after they fell into the swollen water bodies after heavy rainfall here, officials said on Tuesday.
The rainfall also triggered landslides at multiple places between Ramban and Banihal along the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway which remained closed for vehicular traffic for the second day, the officials said.
The drowning incidents were reported from Reasi, Ramban, Doda and Jammu districts late Monday evening. While four bodies were fished out by the rescuers, the search for a girl is still on, they said.
Mohd Shafi (65) and Mumira Bano (17) accidentally fell into the fast-flowing waters while crossing the Deval and Dunga streams in Reasi, officials said. Shafi’s body was retrieved from the river, and efforts are on to locate Bano who had come from Gool to attend a marriage function in the village.
Kaushal Kumar drowned while crossing a stream at Lower Gadigarh in the outskirts of Jammu city. The State Disaster Response Force and local volunteers recovered his body late afternoon, they said.
In Doda district, the body of Firdous Ahmad (13), a resident of Mallan-Dessa, was fished out from Kund Nallah on Tuesday morning. He was crossing the stream when he was swept away by the strong current, they said. In another incident, the body of Yaqood Mir (13) was fished out from a river after he was hit by a rolling boulder from a hillock near his house in Karool area of Ramban, the officials said.
Heavy rains lashed wide parts of Jammu and Kashmir over the past couple of days, triggering landslides at many places and raising the level of water bodies. At least two dozen residential houses were also damaged in Kishtwar and Ramban districts.
In the Poonch district, four school children and two women were rescued by locals after they were left stranded due to flash floods in a stream when they were attempting to cross at Kalar Moda village in the Mendhar area on Monday evening, they said. With the improvement in weather conditions on Tuesday, the officials said the restoration work on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was intensified to ensure its early opening for vehicular traffic.
The traffic on the 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was suspended from both the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar on Monday following landslides, mudslides and shooting stones at several places including Mehar, Panthiyal, Moum Passi and Kishtwari Pather.

Ramban land subsidence: CS reviews relief, restoration measures

JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, on Tuesday convened a high level meeting to review the measures initiated for relief and rehabilitation in the area affected by the recent land subsidence in Ramban district.
The meeting, among others, was attended by ACS Jal Shakti, Principal Secretary Home, Principal Secretary PDD, ADGP L&O, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Commissioner Secretary FCS&CA, Secretary Revenue, Secretary Health, Deputy Commissioner Ramban, MD KPDCL, Chief Engineer R&B Jammu (South) and other concerned officers in person and virtually.
The Chief Secretary enquired from the divisional and district administrations about the relief and restoration measures being carried out by them for the affected population. He asked about the status of transit accommodations provided to the families relocated in Pernote area of Ramban district. He asked for making adequate arrangements of bedding, food, drinking water, electricity, medical aid, sanitation and other amenities at the transit accommodations. He called for making joint efforts to bring immediate relief to the affected people as per the norms of the government.
He also sought inputs from the divisional and district administrations about the status of services operational in the affected area. He asked the officers to explore the possibility of establishing road link with the cut-off areas on war-footing basis for ensuring smooth supplies besides catering to medical emergencies.
The Chief Secretary took stock of the damage caused to power and water infrastructure besides assessing the status of health services and ration distribution through different healthcare facilities and Fair Price shops respectively in the area. He called upon the concerned to take up requisite steps to restore the infrastructure simultaneously making alternative arrangements till its full restoration.
The meeting also held deliberations on rehabilitation of the affected population. The Divisional Commissioner and concerned DC were tasked to prepare a proper rehabilitation plan considering the ground situation. They were even asked to take SDRF and Red Cross on-board for providing instant succor to the displaced people.
The local administration informed about the measures being taken for the affected people. It was informed that around 90 families having nearly 413 souls have been relocated by the administration in safer locations. Besides, transit accommodations were established at three locations including Panchayat Ghar and two community halls situated in village Pernote.
It was also revealed that the arrangements for movement of Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) to and from Gool Sub-District have been done via Mahore, Reasi besides establishment of a reliable link will also be done at an earliest.
Moreover, it was informed in the meeting that the administration is carrying out study of the area through Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Geological Survey of India (GSI), to ascertain the causes behind the land sinking in Ramban and recommend the preventive measures thereof.