Flood fear in Valley; Char Dham Yatra hit

Tribune News Service

Srinagar/Dehradun, June 25

Incessant rain on Thursday created a flood-like situation in southern and central Kashmir and disrupted the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand as landslides blocked routes to the Himalayan shrines. The Jhelum continued to flow above the danger mark at Sangam in Anantnag and Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar, the authorities said.

The overflowing Vaishaw Nullah, a major tributary of the Jhelum, caused flash floods in Kulgam district of south Kashmir, damaging four main bridges connecting the region and causing extensive damage to property. In Uttarakhand, the Kedarnath leg of the yatra was suspended for June 26-27, but the pilgrimage to Yamunotri remained unaffected as the local authorities said though the water level of the Bhagirithi had risen, it was still below the danger mark.

“The yatra to Kedarnath has been suspended as the road near Gauri Kund is blocked due to landslides. Nearly 500 pilgrims returning from the shrine have been moved to safer places. They will take the downward trek after the roads are cleared,” said Rudraparayag District Magistrate Raghav Langer.

The yatra to Gangotri has also been temporarily disrupted and pilgrims have been asked to stop at Harsil, 25 km from the shrine. 

The situation is expected to turn worse as the Met department has predicted heavy rainfall for the next 48 hours, especially in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pauri, Almora, Pithoragarh and Nainital.

But, flood-like situation in J&K is expected to subside as the weather improved on Thursday and the Met authorities predicted no further rains over the next two days.