Kashmir cut off, HP review flood as UP rivers rise

New Delhi, July 13 (UNI) Heavy rains today cut off Kashmir valley from the rest of the country as 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway had to be closed due to landslides, while all major rivers were rising in Uttar Pradesh following incessant rainfall.

Himachal Pradesh government set up two control rooms in Kinnuar district in view of the flood threat due to heavy rains.

One control room has been set up at the district headquarters, while another has been set up at Nathpa dam site to monitor any increase of water level in the Satluj River, he said.

The water level in all the rivers of the state was flowing below the danger level mark, official sources said adding that a general alert has been sounded in the five districts of Kinnuar, Kullu, Shimla, Mandi and Bilaspur in view of the flood threat from the rivers and their tributaries in these districts.

The upper reaches of the Kashmir valley experienced fresh snowfall while plains had heavy rains resulting in drop of temperature, met officials said.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 16.2, two degree below normal, as rainfall received was till 1130 hours was 38.6 mm, a spokesman for the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) told UNI.

Official sources said the upper reaches in the Kashmir valley experienced snowfall since early this morning.

Sources said there was snowfall at holy Amarnath cave shrine and its periphery. The Mahaguns top, Panjtherni and Sangam top enroute the caves also experienced snowfall forcing authorities to stop their pilgrimage.

Srinagar and other plain areas were also lashed by heavy rains disrupting normal life as almost all raods were under water.

The water level in river Jhelum and its tributaries has also increased though it was still several feet below danger mark.

The upper reaches in Kargil and Leh have also been experiencing light snowfall since last evening, official sources said. However, the 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway was through for traffic.

In Uttar Pradesh, Central Water Commission (CWC) today said Gandak river was merely 4.49 cm below the danger mark at Khadda.

Similarly other rivers including Ganga, Yamuna, Ghagra, Sharda, Gomti, Ken, Gandak and Rapti were also rising. But, they were still below the red mark at most places.

The Capital today saw the Sun rays emerge from beneath the cloud cover, resulting in rise of mercury to 34.7 Degrees Celsius.

With the cloudy weather being interspersed with sunny intervals and the humidity hovering at a high level of 75 per cent, it was back to the sultry weather. The minimum too rose to 26 Degrees C, from 25.6 Degrees C yesterday.

The South West monsoon has been active in Kerala and in the regions where it is yet to set in.

Met sources predicted heavy rains at most places in coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep and at many places in Jharkhand, Bihar, East Uttar Pradesh, Konkan and Goa.

Heavy rains have occurred at most places in Bihar, coastal Karnataka and South interior Karnataka.

In Punjab, where one person had died in wall collapse due to the current monsoon, Balachaur with 50.1 mm rain was the wettest place while Nangal Dam recorded 10.2 mm and Ludhiana 5.8 mm rainfall.

Patiala registered 0.4 mm rainfall and Amritsar trace.

Parts of Haryana also experienced monsoon rain. Kalka, in the Shivalik foothills, received 15 mm rain while Ambala had 0.8 mm and Hissar 0.2 mm rain till morning today.

Incessant rain has thrown life out of gear in Bihar as several low-lying areas remained inundated and waterlogged.

Local administration of Patna and several other district authorities have ordered closure of the schools for two days in their respective jurisdictions.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has asked Chief Secretary G S Kang to hold a meeting with senior officials of the Urban Development Department, Patna Municipal Corporation, Public Health Engineering Department and Patna Water board to find out the ways to remove the water logging.

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