M A I N   N E W S

6 of family buried in house collapse
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 2
All six members of a family were buried under the debris of a house that collapsed due to heavy rain in the Bani area of Kathua district today. According to reports reaching here, the house in Fatehpur village belonged to Dharam Chand who was among the killed.

Others who lost their lives were Dharam Chand’s wife, Chinto Devi, son Lekh Raj, daughter-in-law, Rano Devi, their son, Viku and an infant.

Most parts of Jammu and Kashmir are experiencing incessant rain since yesterday morning. This has triggered landslides that have blocked the Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Leh highways. Many other areas too were cut off due to the closure of roads.

The Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi were in spate and a flood alert has been sounded in the villages on the banks of these rivers.

About 500 vehicles were stranded at various places on the Jammu-Srinagar highway since yesterday due to landslides near Ramban and Nashri. More than 300 trucks, 150 light vehicles and at least 12 buses are among the stranded vehicles. The stranded passengers were lodged in various buildings in Banihal.

According to reports several interior roads in Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Poonch and Rajouri districts were blocked due to landslides.

Meanwhile, a structure collapsed in the Manjakot area of Poonch killing some cattle.

SRINAGAR: In Anantnag, five bridges over the Lidder and the Bringi nullah, tributaries of the Jhelum, have been washed away due to a heavy rainfall leading to a rise in the water level. These included three bridges at Akoora, Sakhdas and Wapzan over Lidder and Khalhar and Soafshali over the Bringi nullah. Over 50 villages in Pahalgam, Beijbehara, Homeshali Bugh and Kokernag were submerged in flood waters, reports reaching here said.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad visited the area on his return from Leh and reviewed the flood situation in the twin districts of Anantnag and Pulwama at Khannabal.

Tourism control rooms have been set up at Srinagar, Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonmarg, Leh and Kargil. The Director-General of Police, Mr Gopal Sharma, and the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Mr Basharat Ahmad Dhar, reviewed the situation arising due to incessant rain in the valley at a meeting of engineers and officers of flood control and irrigation on Saturday. The Divisional Commissioner informed the meeting that the machinery had been geared up to meet any eventuality arising out of incessant rain in the valley.