Water level in Jhelum below danger level, officials say

SRINAGAR — The incessant rainfall in the past 16 hours has increased the water level of almost every water body, however, it is well below the danger mark in Jhelum, officials of the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department said on Wednesday.

A top official of the department said that the water level in Jehlum has increased but it is below the danger level at every spot.

He said that the water level in some Nallahs like Vaishaw in Kulgam has increased and all the teams are alert along with machinery to provide possible help to the people.

There is a possibility of significant improvement in weather from today afternoon and the water level will possibly receed after the weather conditions improve.

There are reports of cloudburst at several places but as of now water isn’t flowing above banks anywhere and all field teams are on job to access the situation.

People can get information about water levels from the Kashmir Flood alert android app and they must avoid visiting Nallahs unnecessarily and water discharge in Nallah is very high, he added.

Chief Engineer, I&FC, Naresh Kumar said that the situation at present is under control.

“In Sopore and Tangdhar areas, small breaches have taken place in Nallahs where the restoration work has already been started,” he said.

About Jhelum, he said that the water is flowing above alert level, but it would receed once the weather conditions improve.

After heavy rains, MeT forecasts improvement in weather

After heavy rains in the last 24 hours in Jammu and Kashmir, the weatherman has forecast a ‘significant improvement’ in weather from Wednesday afternoon. Also, there are reports about fresh snowfall at Baltal Base Camp near Amarnath cave as well as Kausarnag in Kulgam and Gurez in Bandipora districts.

An official of the Meteorological department here said that during the last 24 hours till 0830 hours today, Qazigund received 75.2mm, Pahalgam 46mm, Kokernag 45.2mm, Srinagar 57.8mm, Kupwara 34.8mm, Batote 121mm, Banihal 100mm and Gulmarg 69.6mm of rainfall.

“Rainfall has stopped in north-western districts. There is presently light rain in a few places of central Kashmir and many places of south Kashmir,” he said, adding, “There will be a further decrease in rainfall intensity as the day progresses.”

There will be a significant improvement in the weather from today forenoon, he said. “From 23rd onward, there’s no forecast of any major rainfall till next one week,” he said.

Due to continuous rain over the last few days, he said, landslides and flash floods have occurred in many vulnerable places, mainly in hilly areas. “People are once again advised to travel on Srinagar-Jammu Highway, Mugal Road etc. only after confirming the road status from traffic police.”

He also urged people to avoid going or working near sloppy Nallas as “flash flood often occur suddenly”.