STATE TIMES NEWS
Banihal/Jammu: A fresh landslide, triggered by rains, Saturday blocked Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded, officials said.
The landslide struck the 270-km highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, around 1.30 pm at Samroli, forcing suspension of the traffic from both sides, the officials said.
They said the concerned road clearance agencies have pressed its men and machines and efforts are on to restore the traffic at the earliest despite continuous rains.
The officials said at least two private cars suffered damages after being hit by rolling stones from a hillock overlooking the highway near Panthiyal in Ramban district.
However, the passengers travelling in both the vehicles escaped unhurt, they said.
The highway, which had remained closed for nearly 10 hours the previous day following a landslide near Banihal, was opened for one-way traffic Friday night, the officials said, adding the light motor vehicles were allowed from both sides this morning.
Intermittent rainfall continued in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir over the past two days, providing much needed relief to the people from the scorching heat especially in the plains of Jammu region.
Reports from Rajouri said several roads were submerged due to sudden rise in the flow of water in rivers and streams, the officials said.
Amarnath cave experiences snowfall
Banihal/Jammu: Several high altitude areas including the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath witnessed snowfall, while plains including the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar were lashed by rains on Saturday, officials said.
The mercury plummeting seven to 10 degrees below the season’s average, providing much needed relief to the people, especially in the plains of Jammu region, from the scorching heat.
The officials said the holy Amarnath cave in south Kashmir Himalayas recorded light snowfall during the day but there was no disruption in ongoing works being undertaken along the route ahead of the commencement of the annual 43-day yatra on June 30.
The officials said snowfall was also received at upper reaches of north and south Kashmir besides parts of Jammu region including Sarkantha top in Gool and Aram Nakh and Angreeez Thum mountain peaks in Banihal area of Ramban district.
Batote in Ramban district received the highest of 37.4 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm followed by Gulmarg hill resort in north kashmir (35.2 mm), base camp Katra in Reasi district (30.8), Jammu city (21.2 mm) and Srinagar (15.5 mm), an official of the MeT department said.
He said Jammu recorded a high of 31.3 degrees Celsius (7.1 degrees below normal during this part of the season), while the maximum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at 19.3 degrees Celsius, which is 9.1 notches below normal.
Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi shrine, recorded a maximum of 24.4 degrees Celsius, 10.6 notches below season’s average.
The weatherman has forecast fairly widespread light to moderate rain and thunderstorms during the next two days.