Srinagar, August 28 : Citing a report from the India Meteorological Department, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday informed that Wednesday’s severe weather conditions have improved today over Jammu & Kashmir, which has seen widespread destruction due to heavy rain in the past few days.
“Here is a reassuring report from the IMD (India Meteorological Department). Yesterday’s severe weather conditions have improved today over Jammu & Kashmir.
The “Red Colour” warning has been downgraded to “Yellow Colour” for today and tomorrow,” Singh said in a post on X.
“Only isolated heavy rainfall (one or two places) (7 to 11 cm in 24 hrs period) expected over the areas of Jammu, Udhampur and Doda for today and tomorrow. The weather conditions will improve further on 29th August over entire Jammu & Kashmir,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting to review the rescue and relief operations and preparedness of the Union Territory following the landslide that occurred near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra, as well as the flash flood situation in several districts.
The Lieutenant Governor directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people staying in low-lying flood-affected areas are safely evacuated.
He asked the officials to ensure the maintenance of all essential services, such as power, healthcare, clean drinking water, rations, and teleconnectivity. He said the essential services disrupted in flood-affected areas must be restored on priority, and the natural-disaster-hit regions should have an adequate stock of essential supplies and medicines.
Meanwhile, residents of Doda moved to safer locations due to heavy destruction in the area.
Ganesh Kumar, a local who had also relocated to another area, stated that his entire house had been damaged after debris fell down.
“A loud sound was heard at around 2:30-3 AM. After a while, a lot of debris came down and everything in our house was damaged. We somehow saved our lives. My entire house is damaged. We are staying at someone else’s house now…” Ganesh told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has taken the responsibility of repatriating bodies of the landslide victims to their native places.
A devastating landslide occurred near the Vaishno Devi temple in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, claiming more than 30 lives and injuring 20 others. The disaster struck on Tuesday afternoon, around 3 pm, when heavy rains triggered a massive landslide near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkuwari, about halfway along the 12-kilometre trek from Katra to the shrine. (ANI)”
