Floods devastate Jammu and Kashmir, Modi to visit Sunday

SrinagarJammu The worstever floods in Jammu and Kashmir in 60 years have left at least 107 dead affected 2500 villages as well as extensively damaged property infrastructure and crops officials said Saturday The met department said the worst was overPrime Minister Narendra Modi who was briefed about the situation by Home Minister Rajnath Singh who visited the state Saturday decided to go himself Sunday to see the ground situation an official statement saidRajnath Singh who discussed the situation with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and senior officials in Srinagar during his visit assured all help to the state The Congress meanwhile urged Modi to declare the floods a national calamityThe weather office said weather will improve from SundayFrom Sunday onwards Jammu and Kashmir will have clear weather for the next one week As the system has already started weakening we can safely say the worst is over Met office director Sonam Lotus told IANSRajnath Singh said that 107 people have been killed noting floods of this magnitude have hit Jammu and Kashmir after 60 years and 2500 villages were affectedI want to assure the people and the government of Jammu and Kashmir that the central government stands besides you in your hour of crisis and we extend all necessary help to you the minister who was accompanied by Minister of State for Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh an MP from the state told media persons at Jammu airportHe said Abdullah told him the topmost concern was the safety of human lives and to evacuate those trapped The chief minister also expressed concern that paddy maize vegetables and fruit crops over a large area have been destroyed while much of public infrastructure and private property were damagedRevenue Secretary Vinod Koul earlier said that 390 villages in the Valley were submerged and 1225 partially affected while at least 1000 villages were affected in Jammu regionHe said that 50 bridges hundreds of kilometers of roads and power installations units were damaged but a final assessment could be made only after the flood waters receded Koul said the state urgently needs 25000 tents and 40000 blanketsThe toll in the Jammu region has risen to 120 following the death of 14 people in a landslide in Rajouri Friday while many more are missingBoth the Chenab and Tawi rivers were flowing above the danger mark Saturday morning with three bridges on Tawi were closed for traffic as they were declared unsafe officials said One built in May was later washed away A bridge over the Chenab in Akhnoor Jammu district was closed FridayFive people trapped in flood waters in Sidhra area of Jammu city were rescued Saturday morningMeanwhile the Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra in Reasi remained suspended for the third day Saturday Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board CEO MK Bhandari told reporters that more than 25000 pilgrims are camped in the base town Katra as landslides have blocked the mountain trekThe JammuSrinagar national highway remained closed as well as roads from Jammu to Poonch Doda and Kishtwar Electricity supply to Poonch Rajouri Doda Kishtwar Reasi Ramban Samba Kathua and Udhampur districts has been badly affected during the last four daysAuthorities now confirmed that 60 members of a marriage party were killed in Rajouri Thursday when flash floods washed away their bus near Lam 17 km from Noushera town while 60 people have died due to landslides and flash floods in Poonch Reasi Rajouri Doda and Udhampur districts upto FridayIn the Kashmir Valley a cloudburst in the Sonamarg mountains led to the water rising in the Sindh stream threatening hundreds of lowlying villages in Ganderbal district The district administration assisted by army evacuated hundreds of people from the areaThousands of people in hundreds of villages especially in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag Kulgam Shopian and Pulwama have abandoned their homes and livestock to move to safer places So far 20 people have been killed in the Valley according to officialsMeanwhile seven of the nine soldiers who were trapped by flood waters after their boat capsized in Kakapora area of Pulwama 30 km from Srinagar have been rescued police saidAn operation is on to rescue the remaining two a police officer told IANSThe Indian Air Force has deployed its AN32 and IL76 transport aircraft to airlift relief teams and equipment and relief material an official statement saidLeader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad talking to Modi over phone from Srinagar urged him to declare the floods a national calamity while Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi expressed concern over the situation