More rains in next 10 hours
Highways closed, most schools suspend classwork across Kashmir
Suhail Khan
Srinagar, April 29: With a heavy spell of rain witnessed in J&K since the past few days, the MeT office on Monday said that the weather will improve gradually from tomorrow evening onwards, however, predicted more rains in the next 10 hours.
The MeT office forecasted generally cloudy weather, hailstorm, and gusty winds at a few places with the possibility of heavy rain over isolated places of the Jammu and Kashmir division, particularly during the next two days.
Talking to Kashmir Despatch, the Director of the Meteorological department (MeT), Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad, said that it was already predicted that Jammu and Kashmir will witness heavy rains till April 30.
He said that in the next 24 hours, the weather will remain the same; however, from tomorrow evening it may improve. The Director said that from tomorrow evening onwards, there is a gradual change in the weather, and from May 1 onwards, there is a complete improvement in the weather conditions.
The Director said that from May 1 to May 7, there is no major prediction; however, the upper reaches of Kashmir may witness snowfall again today.
Kashmir was lashed by heavy rains while upper reaches had fresh snowfall today leading to rise in the water levels of rivers and streams but administration said that there is no imminent flood threat.
The Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department said there is currently no immediate threat of flooding in the Valley, despite heavy rainfall predictions for isolated areas of Jammu and Kashmir for next 10 hours.
A senior official from the I&FC Department in Kashmir informed Kashmir Despatch that they are actively monitoring the situation, stating that, as of now, there was no immediate danger of flooding in the Valley and there was no need to panic.
“As of now, there is no flood threat in the Valley, we are continuously monitoring the situation and on an hourly basis water level in Jhelum and other water bodies is being gauged”, the official said.
Pertinently, heavy rains lashed Kashmir, and several areas, including Kupwara and Handwara, have also led to the suspension of class work in most of the schools in J&K as a precautionary measure for the safety of students. However, the teaching/non-teaching staff shall attend their duties to monitor the situation and ensure the safety of institutional assets in their respective institutions.
Advisory for Tourists, Public
The Srinagar district administration issued an advisory, asking people, particularly those residing on the left and right banks of River Jhelum and its tributaries and nallahs, to refrain from venturing in and around these water bodies and limit their activities until the improvement of the weather.
Tourists, local shikara wallas, sand miners, and boat ferries in the Jhelum/Dal Lake for travel shall not attempt to cross before verifying the condition and situation of these water bodies.
Meanwhile, the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, Mughal road, and Srinagar-Leh road have been closed for traffic due to landslides and shooting stones amid snow and rainfall since last night, officials said on Monday.
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
