Two children among three dead in Jammu flashfloods

Three persons, including two children, died and four others were rescued as flashfloods triggered by heavy rains were reported from different areas of Rajouri, Poonch, Doda and Kathua districts in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.

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Shaqafat Ali (14) and his cousin Safeena Kousar (11) drowned after a flashflood in a rivulet at their village in the Kalakote sub-division of Rajouri. Another child, Saima (10), who was trapped in the flooded rivulet, was rescued by local volunteers.

Locals said the children were grazing their cattle when they were swept away in the rivulet after heavy rain. The two bodies were retrieved and handed over to the relatives for the last rites.

In another incident, the body of Basharat Hussain (32), a resident of Dunadi village of Doda district, was fished out by a team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) from the Lopa stream. He drowned while bathing in the stream on June 23.

Baldev Raj (35) and Sushil Kumar (25) were rescued by the SDRF from the Ujh river in the Nagri block of Kathua. They had gone fishing and got trapped due to the sudden rise of water in the river following heavy rain in the upper reaches. As per reports, another man was rescued in Poonch district.

The Leh-Srinagar national highway was shut after landslides following incessant rains in many parts of Drass of Kargil. However, there was no major damage to life or property.

Meanwhile, the administration of many districts has imposed a ban on swimming and fishing in rivers.

“It has been observed that during the summer season, people, especially youth and children, frequently engage in swimming, bathing, fishing and roaming unnecessarily near the banks of the Chenab and various nullahs across Doda,” said an order by Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh.

The Deputy Commissioner said under Section 163, BNSS, a complete ban was being imposed on swimming, bathing, fishing and roaming near the Chenab and streams within Doda.

The Meteorological Centre at Srinagar has predicted the possibility of heavy rain at few vulnerable places in the Jammu division till Friday. It has advised farmers to suspend irrigation and other farm operations.