Srinagar, May 28 (IANS) Incessant rains have left the Kashmir Valley’s rivers and streams swollen, prompting authorities to issue a flood alert for Friday.
‘There will be rain and thundershowers across the valley in the next 12 hours. The weather will only show signs of improvement by tomorrow (Saturday) evening,’ said an official of the weather office here.
‘The minimum temperature in the valley will stay around 13 degrees Celsius during the next 24 hours,’ the official added.
Although Jhelum, the biggest river in the valley is still flowing below the danger mark, most other rivers and streams are flowing over the danger mark in both south and north Kashmir areas of the valley.
‘We are closely monitoring the water levels in the Jhelum and other rivers,’ said an official of the flood control department.
People living along the river banks and close to the mountain streams have been advised to take precautions.
The valley has been witnessing unusually wet weather in May. Most farmers are worried since this is the time for transplantation of the paddy crop from the nurseries to the rice fields.
‘My paddy nursery has already started showing signs of damage because of unusual rain. The transplantation of paddy from the nursery to the field has been delayed,’ said Gulam Muhammad, 49, a peasant in north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
Incessant rains have inundated all the low lying areas in Srinagar city where an outdated system has made adequate drainage of rain water difficult.
‘There is knee deep water outside my house in Indira Nagar. I was drenched before I could reach the bus stop,’ complained Muzaffar Ahmad, a resident.
