Rajouri, September 6
Heavy rainfall in the last few days caused widespread damage in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri. Residents are suffering from damaged houses, sunken roads, and destroyed crops.
Several rain-induced landslides also occurred in the district, blocking many routes.
"Over the past 5-6 days, we've toured the entire tehsil of Majakote. The house you're seeing is completely damaged, and the road behind it is also sunken. As a result, all the water from the mountain has collected just behind this house, causing the damage," Social activist and Congress leader Farookh Khan told ANI.
"In this area, nearly 55-60 houses have faced similar issues, with significant damage and sunken roads. The people here have already suffered considerable losses due to earlier Pakistani border shelling and the Operation Sindoor. Now, with the ongoing flood and frequent rain over the past 2-2.5 months, they're facing even more damage," he added.
The locals said that many are living in the sheds after their houses were damaged.
"My house is completely destroyed. People in my neighbourhood are living outside in sheds. No one here can help anyone or anything else. Although all this has happened due to nature, it has become difficult for people to survive here. No one here has a tent, clothes, or anything else. This is a border area; people from the army also came here, but they also saw that nothing was left here," a local named Mohammad Rafeeq told ANI.
Meanwhile, Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra continued to remain suspended for the 12th consecutive day on Saturday due to persistent adverse weather conditions and incidents of landslides along the pilgrimage route.
Heavy rainfall over the past several days triggered landslides and road blockages in the Trikuta Hills, making the pilgrimage route unsafe for devotees.
According to the Regional Meteorological Centre of Srinagar, there is no alert for the district till September 7. However, the weather department has issued a yellow alert for "thunderstorms, lightning and squalls" for September 8-9.
The Vaishno Devi Yatra was suspended after a landslide on August 26 that killed 34 people and injured several. The disaster struck in the afternoon, around 3 pm, when heavy rains triggered a massive landslide near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkuwari, about halfway along the 12-kilometre trek from Katra to the shrine.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had ordered the constitution of a high-level three-member committee to investigate the causes of the landslide.
The committee has been tasked with conducting a detailed investigation and submitting its report within two weeks to LG Sinha, who is also the chairman of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), it said.
- ANI
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