More rains in Kashmir,Jhelum recedes but fear of flood lurking

Srinagar, Apr 1: Fresh rainfall today reignited the fear of floods in Kashmir Valley though the water level in river Jhelum had receded for second consecutive day.

Rainfall which began last night and is expected to continue for next two days, can again cause surge in the water of level of River Jhelum and its tributaries, officials said. The flood situation had started showing improvement yesterday after causing the death of 17 people.

Jhelum was flowing at 11.70 feet at Sangam in south Kashmir, way below the flood level of 21 feet while the level at Ram Munshi Bagh was 15.35 feet against the flood level of 19 feet, they said.

"The water level has decreased considerably since yesterday morning," an official said. "All the contingency plans are in place... temporary shelters have been set up for people evacuated from flood prone areas," he said. The official said NDRF and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been put on a standby to meet any eventuality.

Army has also taken steps to help the people in affected areas of the Valley in dealing with the situation. "We have earmarked one column (75 to 100 troops) in each Company Operating Base (COB) ready to respond to any eventuality," an army official said.

He said three composite rescue groups constituting of Infantry, Engineers, EME and Army Medical Corps have been set up at Badamibagh Cantonment, Old Airfield and Zainakot. "All dewatering pumps held with Army are deployed in the low lying areas," he added.

Heavy rainfall since Saturday has resulted in death of 15 persons in Chadoora area of Budgam district.One person trapped in the landslide was also feared dead but there was no confirmation. One person had died in flash floods in Udhampur area of Jammu region. The deaths took place when a house at village Laden collapsed due to caving in of earth caused by heavy rains.

PTI