Rains bring mercury down in J&K
STATE TIMES NEWS
Banihal: The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed for traffic on Tuesday due to the falling of stones from hilltops in Ramban district following incessant rainfall, traffic officials said. They advised people not to travel on the highway without confirming the status of the road from traffic checking units.
“Jammu-Srinagar highway was blocked due to continuous shooting stones at Panthyal,” an official said.
Incessant rains continued in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir, including Ramban and Udhampur districts, causing a threat of more landslides on the highway, the officials said. Men and machinery have been deployed to clear the highway of the debris but shooting stones are acting as a hindrance, they said.
Meanwhile Jammu and Kashmir, especially the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar witnessed incessant and intermittent rains for the past three days, resulting in the fall in mercury. In Srinagar, the mercury stood around 14 notches below the normal for the month of June in Srinagar even as an independent weather forecaster claimed that the city recorded its coldest June day in nearly 48 years.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Srinagar, the city recorded a maximum temperature of just 15 degrees Celsius.
“This is 14.2 degrees below normal for the month of June in Srinagar,” an official of the IMD Srinagar told PTI.
