Ten minutes of heavy rain inundates Srinagar areas

Roads and buildings in the commercial hub of Lalchowk and adjoining areas of the city were swamped with rainwater early Thursday morning following a round of heavy rain.

Only ten minutes of heavy rainfall at around 6.30 in the morning inundated all the major roads in Srinagar city especially the commercial hub of  Lalchowk  that led to several road closures in the Srinagar areas.

Severe traffic jam was reported in the city as pedestrians were seen wading through the waters and motorists driving into flooded areas, according to reports.

While most parts of the Lalchowk  area remained submerged in water till late afternoon due to early morning downpour. The district administration had pressed dewatering pumps into service to clear the roads and unblock choked drains from adjoining areas of Lalchowk including Rajbagh,Jawahar Nagar areas of the city as well as low-lying areas such as Bemina and Mehjoor Nagar.

Due to the poor drainage systems, the citizens face numerous problems including commuting.. The small amount of rainfall leads to chaotic traffic, which disrupts all kinds of activities within the capital.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan today conducted an extensive assessment of the city following heavy torrential rains as well as consequent water logging in different areas of the capital.

During his visit, the Divisional Commissioner visited Sonawar, TRC Crossing, M.A. Road, Polo View, Regal Chowk, Residency Road, Lal Chowk, Budshah Chowk, Amira Kadal, Hari Singh High Street, Jehangir Chowk, New Secretariat Road, Naaz Cinema & LD Crossings, Wazir Bagh, Gogji Bagh, Solina, Ram Bagh, Baghat, Barzulla, Chanapora, Bagh-i-Mehtab and other areas of the capital city to take first hand appraisal of the situation which arose due to torrential rains.

The Div Com was briefed about the measures being taken to tackle water-logging and preparedness to deal with any kind of exigency.

It was informed that 80 Dewatering Stations, 115 mobile de-watering pumps and an adequate number of fire tenders with personnel have been put on duty in various waterlogged areas across the city. The I&FC is also using their mobile pumps to pump out rainwater that had accumulated at various locations.

The Divisional Commissioner directed the concerned to ensure additional de-watering pumps along with deployment of men and machinery at all the vital locations in the capital.

Meanwhile, Amarnath Yatra has also been suspended till August 4 (Sunday) as a precautionary measure in the wake of bad weather conditions.No fresh batch of yatra proceeded from Jammu towards Kashmir,as per sources.