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From the hills to the plains, heavy rain has been forecast across the Jammu division of J&K as cloudbursts and floods have left several people dead and many others displaced.
All government and private schools across Jammu division were closed on Monday in view of the forecast of heavy rain. Deputy commissioners of districts in the division issued advisories asking people in their respective districts not to go near water bodies and to travel cautiously in hilly areas.
On Monday afternoon, a 20-year-old man was swept away while crossing a nullah in Rajouri district’s Kariyan village. This happened when the water level in the nullah suddenly increased due to rain in nearby hilly areas.
After the tragedy at Kishtwar district’s Chashoti village, where more than 65 people died following a cloudburst on August 14, the administration has decided to scale down the number of pilgrims embarking on Kailash Kund Yatra. The Doda district administration has decided to allow only a few people on the three-day yatra, beginning August 20 from Bhaderwah town to a natural lake at an altitude of 12,887 feet in Seoj Dhar meadows, situated at the tri junction of Udhampur, Kathua and Doda districts.
The decision was taken in view of the forecast of adverse weather conditions, official sources said, adding that children and the elderly would not be allowed to join the yatra.
Sources said that Deputy Commissioners of Udhampur and Kathua have also decided to allow only a restricted number of pilgrims to proceed to Kailash Kund from their respective districts in view of the weather forecast.
Meanwhile, schools in the region will remain closed on Tuesday as well, following the latest forecast of heavy rainfall in Jammu, Reasi, Udhampur, Rajouri, Poonch, Samba and Kathua districts for the next seven days.
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Moderate to heavy showers may also be accompanied by gusty winds in Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban districts, and parts of Kashmir, the Met said.
People have been advised to stay away from rivers, streams, and water bodies, avoid vulnerable kachha houses and loose structures, and exercise extreme caution while travelling in hilly terrain.
Authorities have been advised to remain alert and ensure necessary preparedness in view of the weather conditions.
Meanwhile, braving heavy rain and difficult terrain, rescuers pressed on with the large-scale search operation on Monday to trace those buried under debris in the remote village in Kishtwar that was devastated by last week’s cloudburst.
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“We also have a warning (of heavy rain) for the day, but still we are trying our best,” a CISF officer said. The joint teams of police, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), CISF, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), civil administration, and local volunteers are engaged in the rescue efforts.
The annual Machail Mata yatra, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to conclude on September 5, remained suspended for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday. However, nearly half a dozen people carrying the Chhari of Machail Mata left for Paddar from Doda earlier in the day.
The rivers and nullahs in Rajouri, Poonch, Samba and Kathua district were in spate following night-long rain in the region.
Two separate cloudbursts at Jodh Ghati and in the Janglote area of Kathua district had claimed seven lives, including five children, on Sunday.
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