Weather Fury | Woman dies in house collapse in Udhampur

Jammu, July 28: An elderly woman Friday died after a mudslide hit her kachcha house and it collapsed in Ramnagar tehsil of Udhampur district.

Meanwhile, another bridge Chakra over Tarnah rivulet developed minor cracks in Kathua, compelling authorities to divert the movement of Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) towards Dhar Road from Lakhanpur via Basohli.

As the heavy rains lashed Jammu plains and hilly districts, a 65-year-old woman identified as Kisho Devi, wife of Kapoora of Bari village lost her life when she came under the debris of her kachcha house.

“The house collapsed following a mudslide triggered by rains,” an official said.

The locals and Police immediately launched a rescue operation and shifted her to the hospital where the doctors pronounced her dead. Meanwhile, the authorities in Kathua district have noticed minor cracks at Chakra Bridge following which HMV traffic was diverted to Dhar Road from Lakhanpur via Basohli as a precautionary measure although there were no visible damages to the bridge.

The officials visited the bridge site and reviewed the situation and Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) were allowed to ply on the Jammu-Pathankot highway through Chakra Bridge.

Recently, a major bridge over Tarnah rivulet on Jammu-Pathankot highway was also closed for vehicular traffic after one of its pillars caved in due to flash floods.

The authorities diverted the vehicular traffic of the highway to the border roads of Chadwal and Londi Morh in Kathua district.  

As the commuters including the Amarnath Yatris remain struck in the massive traffic jam for hours together, the Union Minister Jitendra Singh requested to the Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw for the restoration of stop of ‘Jammu Mail’ train number 14033 and 14034 at Railway Station, Chhan Rorian in Kathua, district.

“This request may be addressed urgently because the alternative National Highway in the region has suddenly been disrupted due to the collapse of a road bridge on Tarnah Nullah due to current flash floods,” read his letter written to the Union Minister of Railways.

“Since the people of the region are facing gross inconvenience, the decision to order railway stop at Chhan Rorian, even though temporarily for the time being, will go a long way in mitigating their suffering, till the damaged road bridge is restored,” the letter states.

“Jammu Mail train stop at the same station of Chhan Rorian existed earlier also before the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jitendra said.