Intense rainfall, flooding, and landslides have unsettled life in Jammu. The rivers have risen to dangerous levels, leaving devastation everywhere. Low‑lying zones are drowned, various roads and bridges have vanished. On the Vaishnudevi temple route, a landslide caused thirty‑two deaths and wounded many.
The Sub‑Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Manoj Singh Katra, flew to Narayan Hospital in Kakkariel, where the shrine board’s medical centre is located, to see the injured personally. While there he announced a compensation plan: every family of a deceased will receive nine lakh rupees. He explained that after a cloudburst on the evening of yesterday, the landslide took many lives and many were hurt. Rescue teams are still at work. The shrine board will provide every bereaved a 500,000‑rupee grant, and the state disaster department will add 400,000 rupees, totalling 900,000 rupees for each family.
Later this week, the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Umer Abdullah, briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the heavy rains and flooding in Jammu. He said he had just spoken with the Prime Minister and conveyed the ongoing crisis, expressing gratitude for the NDRF team’s deployment. The Prime Minister assured that the central government would do everything to help the residents of Jammu & Kashmir.
With the rains stopping on Wednesday, a slight relieve appeared. The Chief Minister observed that water levels in the lower regions had lessened compared with Tuesday. He recalled that the fourth bridge over the Ravi River in Jammu City suffered damage during the 2014 floods, and remarked that the same site was again damaged now. He stressed that a mysterious risk remains; determining why a similar problem recurs in 2014 and again this time requires a dedicated team. Preventive steps must be introduced so this does not double. Since the houses on riverbanks will always be in danger during heavy rainfall, action must be taken.
