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| Administration on toes even as flood scare ebbs | | | Bashir Assad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Apr 2: Even as the weather has improved, authorities in Srinagar are taking no chances to deal with any eventuality.
The flood threat in Srinagar and other districts of Kashmir valley eased today as overnight rainfall, which had led to slight rise in water level of River Jhelum, stopped, however, the September experience keeps the administration on toes to deal with any eventuality.
Jhelum was flowing at 14.10 feet at Sangam in south Kashmir, nearly nine feet below the danger mark, while the water level at Ram Munshi Bagh in the city was 15.25 feet, an official of the Flood Control Department said.
Yesterday's rainfall had resulted in an increase in the water level of Jhelum but there was no immediate threat of floods, he said.
"The weather has improved since late last night and if it holds like this, the worst phase might already be over," the official said.
He, however, said moderate rainfall was forecast for tomorrow at many places in the Valley but it should not lead to a flood situation.
"All the contingency plans are in place... temporary shelters have been set up for people evacuated from flood prone areas," an official of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said. He said NDRF and SDRF teams have been put on a stand by.
An army official said they also put several measures in place to help the people in affected areas of the Valley in dealing with the situation obtaining due to heavy rains.
"We have earmarked one column (of nearly 75-100 personnel) in each company Operating Base (COB) ready to respond to any eventuality," the official said.
However, incessant overnight rains kept thousands of locals, having devastating memories of September floods still fresh in their minds, on tenterhooks. " Despite Jhelum flowing below the danger line, thousands of locals living in low lying areas and along banks of rivers and other water bodies remained on tenterhooks throughout the night. "We have been awake for the whole night looking anxiously at the muddy water flowing in the river," said Mehrajuddin, a resident of Abi Guzar area in Srinagar city.
In areas situated close to the Jhelum river in Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla and Bandipora districts officials of the local flood control department and the state police maintained nightlong vigil. Teams of state disaster response force (SDRF) and national disaster response force (NDRF) maintained vigil at vulnerable places along the river banks and also plugged some minor breaches those occurred during the night.
More than 2500 people from different flood prone areas have been shifted to safer places as a precautionary measure during the last 24 hours in Jammu and Kashmir. Sonam Lotus, director of the local Met office said that inclement weather is likely to continue for another 24 hours in the state with possibilities of moderate to heavy rain at many places.
"From tomorrow onwards, we are expecting improvement in the overall weather conditions as the Western Disturbance causing the present conditions is we akening," Lotus said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Jammu-Srinagar highway which was opened for one-way light vehicular traffic on Wednesday was again shut due to landslides in Ramban district of Jammu region. More than five hundred passenger vehicles are stranded at different points at safer places on the highway, officials said.
"There have been fresh landslides on the road at Magarkoot and some other places. The landslides are being cleared so that stranded vehicles are cleared to pass. No traffic will, however, be allowed to move on the highway from either Srinagar or Jammu today (Thursday)," a senior traffic department official said on Thursday. |
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