SRINAGAR: After days of incessant raining in Kashmir, the Jhelum River is surging with water and has breached the flood alarm level, officials at the Irrigation and Flood Control Department said.
Against the flood alarm level of 18 ft at Sanagm in south Kashmir, the Jhelum gauge was already at 19.28 ft at 7 pm. The flood is formally being declared at 21 ft.
Earlier in the day, the I&FC department had asked people living on the twin banks in the south Kashmir to stay alert as the tributaries of the river are flowing with huge waters. All the low lying areas will have to stay extra cautious.
“The level may cross the danger level later tonight,” an official of the department said. “Water from all the tributaries is surging.” The official said that adequate staff has been deployed at all the vital places around Jhelum.
Jhelum gauge is operational at three major spots in south, centre and north of Kashmir. In Srinagar, the gauge at Ram Munshibagh flood alarm is being sounded at 16 ft and the flood is declared at 18 ft. At 7 pm, the level was measured at 16.49 ft.
In north Kashmir, the gauge is located at Asham. Its alarm level is at 13.5 ft and the flood declaration gauge at 14 ft. At 7 pm, the level was at 9.78 ft indicating that the flood water is still far away as the pace of the river is sluggish.
Reports from down south said that the water level in the tributaries has started stabilising. “It is getting down,” one resident living on the Veshu River said. Veshu, one of the fast flowing rivulets is the major devastator in south Kashmir.
Veshu that originates from Ahrabal was recorded flowing with a discharge of 6.19 meters at 7 pm against the danger mark of 7 meters. It shows a fall in comparison to 6 pm gauge. Same is true with the gauge level of Rambiara and Lidder. In comparison to 6 pm, level, both the rivulets had low discharge.
