Muhammad Shaban Mir, 55, was emotionally on the edge following the week-long shutdown of the Jammu-Srinagar highway in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Kashmir valley’s sole road connection with mainland India was and shut due to the weather situation and stranded his apple harvest.
The consignment, bound for Delhi, would have delivered Mir’s family of eight their yearly earnings. On Wednesday, Mir's fear turned to desperation as floodwaters swept away his three-acre orchard, destroying months of work overnight.
“We don’t know if we should save our animals, mourn these floods, or see our orchards gone underwater. We are heartbroken,” said Mir as he waited with his family to move from their home in anticipation of a water level increase.
Heavy rains since August have caused widespread flooding in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. Rivers burst their banks, dams reached their limits, and landslides added to the devastation.
Officials say that floods have inundated thousands of houses, destroyed crops, and crippled infrastructure – roads, bridges, and electricity lines. Disaster relief agencies say this is the worst flooding since the mid-1980s, with large-scale rescue efforts still ongoing.
“Our field teams are monitoring the situation. We have directed some preventive evacuations. Police and disaster officials have given advisories, and they need to be followed. People in low-lying areas need to relocate to safer locations. We have identified 300 buildings in different districts where we made sure all basic facilities are available. We have sufficient essential supplies available; people need not panic,” Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir Anshul Garg said.
In Jammu, which has witnessed heavy rainfall, flash floods forced the army to transport the elderly and children over inundated streets and lowlands. Rising rivers halted the Vaishno Devi Yatra pilgrimage, with schools and markets shut as the Tawi and Chenab rivers rose above danger levels. Thousands remain in temporary camps in anticipation of deteriorating situations.
“We haven’t slept for a week, not knowing if our house will stand at the end,” said Shamim Choudhary from Gujjar Nagar. “We witnessed one flood and were cleaning up when another threatened. I have three children – we don’t know where to go,” she added.
Cloudbursts, landslides and flash floods have claimed more than 100 lives in Jammu, with pilgrims traveling to the Vaishno Devi temple in the Katra area of Reasi district especially affected. Road connectivity has also been disrupted.
In Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, the government remains on red alert as river levels rise. A breach in the Jhelum river inundated scores of villages in Budgam on Wednesday. Locals and experts say the Jhelum, considered to be the lifeline of Kashmir, has become more prone to flooding due to silting, encroachment, and erratic rainfall
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