Floods And Landslides Disrupt Jammu Travel, 22 Trains Cancelled Amid Heavy Rain

The Jammu region is undergoing its worst rainfall in decades, with life paralyzed by flooding, landslides, and major damage to infrastructure. The Northern Railways announced on Tuesday the cancellation of 22 trains for Wednesday moving out from Jammu, Katra and Udhampur railway stations. Nine of the trains were from Katra, the shrine’s base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi; one train was from Jammu; and the rest are trains that are coming in. 

In addition to the cancellations, 27 trains were also short-terminated at Firozpur, Manda, Chak Rakhwalan, and Pathankot due to unsafe track conditions. Train runs on the Pathankot-Kandrori route in Himachal Pradesh has been halted after heavy rainfall eroded soil and caused flash floods around the railway line, which is in the area of the Chakki River. The Northern Railways reiterated that this was all done considering the safety of passengers due to the onset of seepage and the risk of landslides and erosion due to relentless rain. Officially, however, they did acknowledge that train runs along the Katra-Srinagar route are not affected.

The city of Jammu, as per the Meteorological Department, received more than 250 mm of rain in 24 hours, resulting in major waterlogging and residential colony, agricultural field, and commercial area flooding. Some bridges have been swept away, roads were destroyed, and thousands have been left homeless. 

Widespread power outages and communication outages have been reported by authorities after heavy rains knocked down electricity wires and mobile towers.

Vaishno Devi Landslide Tragedy

The continuous rains created a deadly landlside on the Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra route on the Trikuta hills located in Katra, killing at least 30 pilgrims and injuring at least 23 others. Not only did the landslide obestruction take out a major part of the pilgrimage route, it also blocked a major route to the revered shrine and stranded thousands of pilgrims.

Rescue missions continue with innumerable Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF, J&K Police, and local citizens, working all day and all night, searching for those who may still be alive, and recovering the dead. Officials confirmed that over 3,500 residents have been shifted to safe places as flash flooding and landslide dangers continue, together with the risk of further cloudbursts. Meteorological updated predicted that heavy rain is likely to continue until August 27, leading to significant anxiety regarding a repeat of such disasters.

The dual blow of train cancellations and a landslide disaster in Vaishno Devi highlights the extent of loss brought due to the violent weather in Jammu and Kashmir across all spheres of life, pilgrim and otherwise, as homes, roads, transport and travel have come to a complete standstill.

ALSO READ: Vaishno Devi Landslide Disaster: 30 Killed, Several Injured As Heavy Rains Batter Jammu and Kashmir