Rains across Jammu leave two dead

Jammu, Feb 28 (PTI) A woman and her son were killed, and 12 people rescued from swollen water bodies as incessant rains lashed wide parts of Jammu for the third day on Friday, officials said.

The high altitude areas also received moderate to heavy snowfall, prompting closure of various roads, including the strategic 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, they said.

Shano Devi (50) and her son Raghu (25) were killed when a boulder from a hillock hit their two-wheeler near Moungari in Udhampur district early Friday.

At least 11 non-migrant labourers were rescued by a joint team of police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) from Ujh river in Rajbagh area of Kathua district early Friday, the officials said.

They said the labourers were putting up in a shed adjoining a construction site and their lives were in danger due to the increase in the water level following incessant rains.

A driver of a dumper was also rescued by police and SDRF personnel in a joint operation in Niki Tawi area in Jammu this morning.

The driver Mohan Lal, a resident of Gole-Gujral, was rescued in a daring effort after his dumper got submerged in river Tawi around 5.40 am, the officials said.

They said no fresh traffic was allowed on Jammu-Srinagar national highway owing to accumulation of snow between Ramsoo and Qazigund, shooting of stones, landslides and mudslides at various places between Nashri and Banihal.

The traffic on the highway was suspended around 7 pm on Thursday, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded, the officials said.

The traffic on Batote-Doda road was also closed due to landslides at Ragi Nallah, while several other roads, including Bhaderwah-Chamba, Mughal road and Sinthan road also remained closed due to heavy snowfall in the higher reaches, the officials said.