Srinagar: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir have improved, citing a report from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The Union Territory has witnessed widespread destruction in recent days due to heavy rains.
“Here is a reassuring report from the IMD. Yesterday’s severe weather conditions have improved today over Jammu & Kashmir. The ‘Red’ warning has been downgraded to ‘Yellow’ for today and tomorrow,” Singh wrote on X.
According to the IMD, only isolated heavy rainfall (7–11 cm in 24 hours at one or two places) is likely over Jammu, Udhampur, and Doda on Thursday and Friday. Weather across the region is expected to improve further from August 29.
On Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting to review rescue, relief, and preparedness measures following a landslide near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra and flash floods reported in several districts.
The Lieutenant Governor directed officials to ensure safe evacuation of people from low-lying, flood-hit areas and to restore essential services—power, healthcare, clean drinking water, rations, and connectivity—on priority. He also instructed that adequate supplies of food and medicines be maintained in disaster-hit regions.
Meanwhile, several residents of Doda have moved to safer locations after heavy damage in the area. Ganesh Kumar, a local resident who relocated, said his house was completely destroyed after debris struck in the middle of the night.
“Around 2:30–3 AM, a loud sound was heard. Soon after, debris came crashing down and everything in our house was damaged. We barely managed to save our lives. My entire house is gone—we are staying at someone else’s home now,” he told reporters here.
The Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has taken responsibility for repatriating the bodies of the landslide victims to their native villages.
The landslide near the Vaishno Devi temple in Reasi district occurred on Tuesday around 3 PM, triggered by heavy rainfall. It claimed more than 30 lives and left 20 others injured near Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkuwari, midway along the 12-km trek from Katra to the shrine.
