Heavy rain damages vital bridge on Jammu-Pathankot highway, life paralysed

A vital bridge on the strategic Jammu-Pathankot national highway was badly damaged, and several students of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) were rescued by SDRF personnel as torrential rains this morning threw life out of gear in the Jammu region. This was the second-highest rainfall this month in a century.

Electricity and drinking water supply were also disrupted for long hours in the city and rural areas. The authorities have shut all schools in the Jammu division on Monday in view of the bad weather advisory.

Advertisement

According to the Meteorological Centre, Jammu recorded 191 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours till 8.30 am. The highest rainfall for August remains 228.6 mm, recorded on 5 August 1926, while the previous second-highest was 189.6 mm on 11 August 2022.

Authorities have issued advisories asking people to stay away from water bodies and landslide-prone areas amid a weather forecast predicting moderate to intense rainfall with the possibility of cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides in high altitude areas till August 27.

At least 50 students of the IIIM here were evacuated to safety in a joint operation by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police after floodwaters submerged the ground floor of the hostel complex. SDRF and police deployed manpower equipped with boats to reach out to the students after more than seven feet of water from the overflowing canal entered their hostel buildings this morning, the officials said.

They said the rescue operation continued for more than five hours, and all the trapped students were evacuated to safety.
Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director IIIM, an autonomous body under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said the institute has made arrangements for the safe stay of the students.

Normal life was disrupted in Jammu city because of the heavy downpour, which led to overflowing of streams and drains, leading to inundation of roads and flood waters entering homes at several places, including Janipur, Roop Nagar, Talab Tilloo, Jewel Chowk, New Plot, Bhagwati Nagar, and Sanjay Nagar. Several vehicles were swept away in the flash flood.

A portion of the road linking Gandhi Nagar with the old city near the Tawi bridge caved in, while a culvert on the exit gate of Jammu bus stand also collapsed due to the heavy rainfall.

The overflowing streams and drains aggravated the situation in low-lying areas where the flood waters entered homes, damaging boundary walls at several places and dozens of vehicles.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has directed all departments concerned to remain on high alert amid heavy rains.
He has directed all departments to remain on high alert in view of heavy rains across Jammu and Kashmir, which have caused waterlogging in several residential areas and led to rivers and nallahs flowing above the danger mark.

Reports said water levels in major rivers and streams, including the Basantar in Samba, Ujh and Ravi in Kathua, Chenab in Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban and Jammu, and Tawi in Udhampur and Jammu, rose sharply, prompting the administration to put disaster response teams and local police on alert.