Worker dies in landslide in Jammu, more than 80 rescued from Qazikund; several places sub-zero in HP

A construction worker died in a landslide along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway which remained closed for the fourth consecutive day, and more than 80 people were rescued from a snowed under stretch in Qazikund by the India Army, officials said on Thursday.The worker, Deshpaul, 31, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was hit by a landslide outside his company headquarters near Seri in Ramban district around 8.30 am, police said.Deshpaul was going towards the mess of the company for breakfast when the incident occurred.


PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 22-02-2024 20:54 IST | Created: 22-02-2024 20:54 IST
Worker dies in landslide in Jammu, more than 80 rescued from Qazikund; several places sub-zero in HP
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A construction worker died in a landslide along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway which remained closed for the fourth consecutive day, and more than 80 people were rescued from a snowed under stretch in Qazikund by the India Army, officials said on Thursday.

The worker, Deshpaul, 31, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was hit by a landslide outside his company headquarters near Seri in Ramban district around 8.30 am, police said.

Deshpaul was going towards the mess of the company for breakfast when the incident occurred. His body was retrieved and taken to a hospital for post mortem. In Qazigund, army troops rescued over 80 students and faculty staff stranded on the Jammu-Kashmir Highway for the past three days due to landslides and snowstorm.

Heavy snowfall and roadblocks caused by landslides on Wednesday left many commuters stranded along the treacherous Jammu-Srinagar highway, among them were 74 students of Rajasthan Law college and seven of its staff members, officials said.

''A landslide occurred just 500 metres in front of our vehicle after crossing Banihal, leaving us frightened,'' one of the students said.

An official of the traffic department said the 270-km long highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, remained closed for the fourth day following a fresh landslide at Kishtwari Pather near Banihal.

''The restoration work is in progress and will take some time,'' he said.

In Himachal Pradesh, most parts reeled under biting cold wave conditions as the minimum temperature dipped following snowfall and rain in some areas, the MeT office said.

Lahaul and Spiti's Kukumseri was the coldest in the state at minus 14.6 degrees while the minimum temperature stayed 15 to 20 degrees below freezing point in several high-altitude tribal areas.

According to reports, an avalanche occurred at Dhooni mountain above Jabrang village in Lahaul and Spiti district. No casualty was reported in the incident.

According to the state emergency operation centre, four national highways, among 400 roads, are still closed and 289 transformers and 11 water supply schemes remain disrupted.

In Lahaul and Spiti, 288 roads, including 505 in Gramphu-Losar and three in Darcha-Sarchu are blocked, followed by 83 in Chamba and 21 in Kullu, it said. In North and East Sikkim, several strategically important roads were blocked due to heavy snowfall, the Border Road Organisation (BRO) said in a statement on Thursday.

Strategically important roads along the Lachung and Lachen axis and the national highway to Nathu La and Tamze have experienced exceptionally heavy snowfall causing disruption of socio-economic activities and posing a challenge to all road users.

''Due to disturbance from western Himalayan region, the weather in Sikkim has taken a swift turn because of which the Northern and Eastern part of Sikkim is experiencing heavy snowfall,'' BRO said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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