JAMMU, Sept 6: The rain today derailed the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) efforts to restore traffic on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which remained closed on the 5th consecutive day, while Indian Air Force airlifted two critical patients from remote Latti area of Dudu Sub Division to District Hospital Udhampur today.While Mata Vaishnodevi Yatra continued to be suspended after landslide tragedy, about two dozen more houses are reported to have been damaged during past 48 hours in the region.
NHAI Project Director, Ramban-Udhampur sector, Shubam Yadav said efforts are going on at a war footing to clear the 250-metre stretch of the highway at Thard in Udhampur district which was buried under a hill.
“What we had gained during the day on Friday was washed away by intense half-an-hour rainfall the morning. Then again rain started at around 3.30 pm and spoiled our efforts. We had planned to restore highway by this evening. We withdrew the men and machinery for several hours in view of the mud and slush,” Yadav said.
He said they are expecting to clear the road tomorrow if the weather remained fair. A boulder is yet to be blasted in the morning. Barring this, four-lane highway stretch, which is completely buried under a moving hill, the rest of the highway – the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country – has been cleared for two-way traffic, the NHAI PD added.
The highway was closed for traffic amid heavy rain across the Jammu division early this week, following multiple landslides, mudslides and shooting stones from the hillocks overlooking the road besides washing away of road patches at different places between Udhampur and Banihal. The closure of the highway left hundreds of vehicles, mostly trucks, stranded on both sides, officials said.
IGP Traffic, J&K, Suleman Choudhary said that due to rain the smooth restoration work on National Highway at Thard near Udhampur the main bottleneck was disrupted today. He said two spells of rain during the day on Saturday disrupted the work, otherwise, NHAI officials had given assurance to open road this evening. If the weather remains favourable the road is likely to be restored tomorrow,
He said the Mughal Road, an alternate link connecting Poonch and Rajouri districts with south Kashmir’s Shopian district, is open for light motor vehicles. However, the Kishtwar-Sinthan-Anantnag road, another alternate link, remained closed for the fourth day despite a massive road clearance operation. Reasi-Mahore road was also restored today.
A Meteorological department spokesperson said rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at a few places on Sunday. Light rain or thundershowers are expected at scattered places across J&K with a possibility of moderate rain or thunder over a few districts of the Jammu division towards late night or early morning on September 7 and 8.
The weather office has also forecast a brief spell of rain or thundershower activity at a few places between September 9 and 12, he added.
Meanwhile in a swift humanitarian response, the District Administration Udhampur in collaboration with the Indian Air Force (IAF) today successfully airlifted two patients from the flood and landslide-hit region of Tehsil Latti-Marothi for urgent medical intervention.
The two patients namely Shiv Lal, resident of Sira and Diwan Chand, resident of Latti were in a critical condition requiring immediate medical attention. Due to incessant rains and multiple landslides, road connectivity between Tehsil Latti-Marothi and Udhampur remained disrupted, making air evacuation the only viable option.
On receiving information from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Udhampur, District Magistrate Saloni Rai promptly coordinated with the Indian Air Force under the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) framework to ensure timely evacuation.
As part of the operation, one patient was shifted to Military Hospital (MH) Udhampur, while the other was admitted to Government Medical College (GMC) Udhampur for specialized treatment.
Reports from Reasi said that the pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills is likely to resume next week after a fresh review of the weather advisory.
The yatra remained suspended for the 12th consecutive day today with the weatherman forecasting the possibility of moderate rain or thunder showers over a few districts of Jammu division towards late night or early morning hours on September 7 and 8.
“A decision to resume the yatra will be taken next week. The track is cleared of the debris and is getting a facelift after the recent damage due to landslides triggered by heavy rains,” an official of the Shrine Board said.
The yatra was suspended hours before a landslide along the old track at Adhkuwari on August 26 claimed 35 lives and left 20 others injured.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissoner Ramban Alyas Khan said that at least 10 more families from Rajgarh area were shifted to the safer places as the land is sinking at the village. These families were also provided immediate assistance by the local administration.
Meanwhile, another house of one Des Raj, son of Late Munshi Ram at village Haldno, in Ramban has been damaged in landslide triggered by heavy rainfall. The structure suffered total loss and an old lady, Rano Devi, mother of Des Raj, was also injured in the incident. All the household items including beds, clothes, utensils etc were destroyed in the house collapse. The land is sinking in the area and more houses could be damaged if the authorities concerned failed to take some preventive measures.
Reports from Udhampur said that at least 15 houses were danaged in Dudu Sub Division during last two days. It said three houses in Bandole, at least five in Chapper and rest in Panchount and Kolak area were damaged. Houses of Shhina, Kaka, Sansar and his brother were damaged at Chapper. House of Santosh Kumar was damaged on Bandole-Parttangarh road in Latti.
Meanwhile, four more families from Jamslan area of Mahore from where massive land is sinking were shifted to safer locations today. Their houses were also damaged.
