Massive damage in Kangan
Kangan, Aug 04: Flash floods triggered by a possible cloudburst wreaked havoc in several areas of Kangan subdivision in Ganderbal district at 12:30 am on Sunday, causing massive damage to residential houses, agricultural land, vehicles, and roads.
The flash floods occurred in the Cherwan, Kullan, and Gagengar areas of Kangan with significant damage caused in the Cherwan area.
The cloudburst followed by flash floods resulted in huge mudslides in Cherwan on Srinagar-Leh National Highway and a couple of residential houses.
Some parked vehicles also got trapped under the debris.
The flash floods also damaged some roads, water supply lines, and electricity lines. As per the locals, the flash floods created a flood-like situation in the area.
Flash floods and landslides also hit the Srinagar-Leh National Highway, resulting in its blockade.
Locals said that the incident created panic and chaos in the area.
However, no loss of life was reported.
Soon after the incident, a rescue operation was launched by the locals, civil administration, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Army and several families were evacuated and shifted from the landslide-hit area.
Civil and police administration officials including Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Ganderbal, Gulzar Ahmad along with the SDM Kangan, SDPO Kangan, and other officials visited the landslide-hit area to assess the situation.
An official said that by afternoon, the BRO and Traffic Police partially restored the Srinagar-Leh National Highway for traffic movement while further restoration work was underway.
Locals said that the land started sinking during the last few days and that they informed the administration about it.
They said that in 2020, in a similar incident of landslides, several residential houses, commercial shops, and agricultural land were damaged, causing losses of crores of rupees.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, ADC Ganderbal Gulzar Ahmad said that all the concerned departments including revenue, agriculture, and horticulture had deputed their teams to the area to assess the losses due to the flash floods.
He said that a comprehensive report would be submitted to the higher authorities for relief and compensation.
Ahmad said that immediate relief under the Red Cross had been provided to the affected families while the administration would also provide every possible support to them.
He said water and electricity restoration work would be done on a fast-track basis.
Meanwhile, flash floods triggered by a possible cloudburst in the upper reaches occurred in the Kullan area of Kangan.
The flashfloods in the nallah snaking through Shah Mohalla Kullan occurred due to a possible cloud burst Sunday morning.
The flash floods also resulted in the closure of Srinagar-Leh National Highway near Kullan due to which traffic remained suspended on both sides of the highway.
Later with the efforts of BRO and Police, the road was cleared for traffic.
Another landslide occurred near the Gagengar area of Sonamarg which also affected the traffic movement on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway for hours.
