Jammu & Kashmir: Heavy rain blocks highway and causes landslides
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After several spells of heavy rain hit Jammu province overnight, landslides blocked the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district.
The weather office has forecasted similar rainfall in the next 48 hours. A few regions in the Jammu area are expected to receive heavy showers.
Officials have suspended traffic on the road due to the risk of shooting stones. They said efforts are underway to ensure early restoration of the highway. It is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir to the rest of the country.
A convoy of 174 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims has been halted at Chanderkoot Yatra Niwas till clearance of the road. Traffic is suspended on the historic Mughal Road in Poonch as well. It connects Poonch and Rajouri districts in the Jammu region with Shopian in South Kashmir. It is an alternative to the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
Jammu city and other parts of the district received heavy rain at night which has left many roads in the region waterlogged. Jammu city recorded 95.7 mm, Udhampur 92.6 mm, and Kathua 42.0 mm of rainfall. Officials note that Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi shrine in the Reasi district, witnessed 14 mm of rainfall.
The rain came to a halt around 8.30 am on Sunday.