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Friday, Jul 08, 2005

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National

Floods claim four lives in Kashmir

Army, Air Force and civilian officials rescue 162 people; two vital bridges washed away

IN FULL FLOW: Water overflows the banks of the Tawi river in Jammu on Thursday. — Photo: AP

NEW DELHI: Four persons were killed and two vital bridges washed away in the flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir where about 162 people, including women and children, were rescued by the Air Force, Army and civil officials on Thursday.

The Air Force pressed into service its helicopters and rescued about 100 people from the Ujh river in Kathua district and 27 others from the Tawi river in Jammu district, official sources said.

The Army used steamers in Hansuchak area of R.S.Pura tehsil in Jammu district and rescued 25 people whose houses had come under three to five feet of water.

The police and civilian authorities also rescued about 10 people from the Chenab river in Doda district, they said.

Above danger mark

Due to continuous downpour, the water levels in Neeru Nullah and its tributaries in Baderwah town of Doda district have risen above the danger mark, they said. Two vital bridges at Sarol Bagh and Seheri-Sartingal were washed away affecting eight villages.

Four water mills have also been washed away in the Baderwah area due to incessant rains, they said.

One person was killed in a house collapse at Dudu-Basantgarh area in Udhampur district this afternoon, the sources said. Two teenaged girls were swept away by the turbulent Atlyan stream in the same district last evening.

Another teenager was killed and his brother injured when lightning struck a house in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district. The 300-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only surface link between Kashmir and rest of the country, remained shut following landslips triggered by torrential rains.

The flood situation remained grim in Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh with incessant rains in the northern region throwing normal life in disarray.

Gujarat limped back to normal with restoration of road, rail and air traffic.

Close to 300 people have perished and nearly 12-lakh, a majority of them from urban areas, affected in flood-battered Madhya Pradesh, Himachal and Gujarat. Several people stranded on the highway have been shifted to safer places. Several rivers were in spate in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Four Army columns, for helicopters and 15 motorboats were deployed in Panna, Sagar, Damoh districts in Madhya Pradesh to rescue marooned people. — PTI

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