Shooting stones leave two dead in Udhampur

A youth and his mother were killed when a boulder from a hillock hit their two-wheeler near Moungari in Udhampur on Friday. The deceased have been identified as Shano Devi (50) and her son Raghu (25). In Kathua, a joint team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Jammu and Kashmir Police rescued 11 labourers trapped in a flood at a construction site near the Ujh river. SDRF inspector Mohammad Iqbal said, “Early on Friday morning, 11 labourers of Megha Construction Company were trapped after a flashflood at a construction site on the Ujh river. A police team from Rajbagh, along with SDRF, reached the spot and rescued all of them.”

In another incident, police along with SDRF rescued a dumper driver from the Niki Tawi river. “The driver had climbed atop the cabin of the truck as the water level rose. Eventually, we rescued him,” a police officer said.

In Poonch, a man was swept away with two other members of his family, including a two-day-old infant, Poonch SSP Shafqat Bhat said. Police recovered the body of Abdul Aziz of Phagla in Surankote from the Suran river. “The mother and the infant are missing,” he said.

On Thursday, a driver, Wahid Iqbal of Upper Surankote, was killed and two CRPF men were injured when their vehicle was hit by a boulder in Madana Ziarat, Surankote, Poonch.

The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 44 remained closed due to incessant rain, shooting stones, landslides and mudslides between Nashri and Navyug Tunnel in Ramban district. “Men and machinery are on the job to restore the affected stretches,” said a traffic police officer. “A part of the road is sinking at Mehad in Ramban. Commuters are advised to avoid travel on the Jammu-Srinagar highway till the weather improves,” he added.

The Batote-Doda road (NH 244) is also closed due to a landslide at Ragi nullah (rivulet). The Srinagar-Sonmarg road, Bhaderwah-Chamba road, Mughal road and the Sinthan road are also closed for traffic after heavy rain and snow.

The Domail-Katra highway was closed after major cracks appeared on the road.

At Srinagar international airport, two flights were cancelled early in the morning owing to overnight snowfall. Later, the operations were resumed as the weather improved.

The inclement weather affected the helicopter service to Sanjichhat from Katra on Friday. “Chopper service remains suspended for the second day following rain and fog in the Trikuta Hills. The pilgrimage by foot via Ban Ganga and Tarakote Marg remain unaffected,” an official said.

On Saturday and Sunday, the weather will remain generally cloudy with light rain and snow at isolated places. On Monday, the region is likely to get another spell of moderate rain and snow. The weather is expected to open up from March.

The heavy snowfall last night brought down the deficit in rain or snowfall in J&K to 42% from earlier 80%. The meteorological centre in Srinagar said the highest snow depth was recorded in the ski northern resort of Gulmarg at 113 cm followed by central Kashmir’s resort of Sonamarg at 75 cm.

Against a normal precipitation of 225.4 mm rains in the months of January and February, J&K and Ladakh have cumulatively received 131.5 mm precipitation and most of which was witnessed during the past four days. The authorities in Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramula, Budgam, Kulgam, Pulwama , Kishtwar, Samba and other districts issued an avalanche warning, urging people not to go into avalanche prone areas.

Kashmir winter vacations extended

Srinagar: Fresh rain and snowfall in Kashmir prompted the education authorities to extend the winter vacation by around a week. The schools, which were scheduled to open from March 1 after over two and a half months of winter vacation, will now open from March 7, J&K’s education minister Sakina Itoo said.

The classes up to 5th standard in Kashmir schools were closed from December 10 while those from 6 to 12 were closed on December 16. (With PTI inputs)