JAMMU: Heavy rains continued to batter Jammu for a third consecutive day on Friday, claiming the lives of a mother and her son and causing widespread disruptions, including the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The ongoing downpour has already claimed three lives on Thursday, bringing the total fatalities to five in the past 24 hours.
Early Friday morning, Shano Devi (50) and her son Raghu (25) tragically died when a boulder rolled down and struck their two-wheeler in the Moungari area of Udhampur district, officials confirmed.
Elsewhere, 12 workers were rescued from floodwaters. “Around 11 laborers were saved from the Ujh river in Rajbagh, Kathua, after they were trapped in flash floods while taking shelter near a construction site,” an official reported. Additionally, police and SDRF teams successfully rescued a truck driver who had become stranded in floods in the Niki Tawi area of Jammu.
The situation on the Srinagar highway remained dire, with no fresh traffic being allowed due to the accumulation of snow between Ramsoo and Qazigund, as well as landslides, mudslides, and boulders blocking the road between Nashri and Banihal. Traffic was suspended around 7 pm on Thursday, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded.
The Batote-Doda road was also closed due to landslides, while other routes, including the Bhaderwah-Chamba road, Mughal road, and Sinthan road, were shut due to heavy snow, as reported by traffic police on X. “Inclement weather also affected helicopter services to Sanjichhat (Vaishno Devi shrine) from Katra, but the pilgrimage on foot remained unaffected,” the official added.
In the rains on Thursday, a civilian driver of a CRPF vehicle was killed and two personnel were injured after the vehicle was struck by a boulder in Surankote, Poonch. Additionally, a truck driver died when his vehicle fell into a gorge in the same area, while a 12-year-old boy was swept away by flash floods in Reasi.
