1 dies in Banihal flash floods

Banihal/ Ramban, Sep 02: A machine operator died in flash floods caused by heavy rains and a cloudburst in the Bankoot area of Banihal in Ramban district on Monday.

Officials said that a cloudburst in the upper reaches of Bankoot village near Banihal caused flash floods in Gagarwah and Bankoot Nallahs.

A machine helper working on the Bankoot-Gujjarnar link road was washed away in the flash floods.

The flash floods also damaged the under-construction Bankoot-Gujjarnar road and swept away an L&T machine, a JCB machine, and other machinery.

Police said that after receiving information about a person being swept away in the floodwaters in Bankoot Nallah, local teams from Bankoot, volunteer teams from Banihal, and Police rushed to the spot and initiated a rescue operation. They said that following intense efforts, the body of the machine operator was retrieved from the nallah.

“He was identified as 28-year-old machine helper Zahir Ahmad, son of Abdul Qayoom of Manjoos, Khari,” Police said. They said that he died on the spot and doctors confirmed his death upon arrival at the hospital.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramban, Basher-ul-Haq Chowdary in a post on X issued an alert saying “Cloudburst occurred in Bankoot area of Banihal subdivision at around 6:30 pm. Rescue teams of the Banihal subdivision, local youth, and civil QRT are on the spot. People are requested not to roam around the rills and rivulets (Nallahs).” Meanwhile, the Police through a public address system appealed to locals of Banihal, Ramsu, and adjoining areas falling around Bisleri Nallah not to venture near the streams and rivulets given the adverse weather advisory and increased water level. Seven persons had been washed away and property worth lakhs of rupees was destroyed on August 26 after a cloudburst in the Rajgarh area of Ramban.