Umaisar Gull Ganaie/ Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, May 02 : A man died after a lightning struck him in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, while flash floods triggered by a cloud burst in Ramban District led to the closure of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway yet again, officials and reports said on Friday.
According to the details available with the news agency a 37-year-old auto driver, Tariq Ahmad Padder, of Gansorgam, Kulgam, died after being struck by lightning in his native village. He was rushed to District Hospital Kulgam where doctors declared him “brought dead.”
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was once again closed for vehicular movement after a landslide occurred at Chamba Seri in Ramban area. “It occurred soon after the area near the highway was hit by the cloudburst, leading to the flash floods again,” said an official.
The commuters have been advised not to travel until the road is cleared.
“Please check the status of roads before starting your journey,” a traffic official said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic National Highway (Ramban), Raja Adil Hamid said that restoration work is underway to clear the debris and resume traffic.
He said most of the vehicles have already been cleared, while some stranded ones have been halted at safer locations. “Our priority will be to clear traffic going uphill,” he said.
Pertinently, flashfloods last month had washed away significant portion of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and the restoration work is on.
GUSTY WINDS WREAK HAVOC
Meanwhile, the gusty winds followed by the moderate rainfall wreaked havoc in several areas as the reports about the uprooting of a tree was received from SKICC here, leading to the massive traffic jam along the route.
Moreover, the reports were received that a tree uprooted near SKICC this afternoon amidst the gusty winds, causing huge traffic jam along the route.
Furthermore, two flights were also diverted due to the windstorm today.
According to an official, IndiGo flights 6E896/2305 (Delhi-Srinagar-Delhi) and 6E214 (Mumbai-Srinagar-Ixj) were unable to land at Srinagar International Airport due to windstorms and have been diverted to Chandigarh and Delhi, respectively.
Moreover, as predicted by the local Meteorological department, (MeT), rains lashed several central and southern areas of Kashmir this afternoon.
Director MeT, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that there is a possibility of brief spell showers at isolated to scattered places with thunder and gusty winds till May 05.
