The Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for the third consecutive day on Friday following multiple landslides, shooting stones and road erosion triggered by incessant rain.
Relentless rain, cloudbursts and flash floods over the past six days have claimed 26 lives in the Jammu region, while six persons are still missing, officials said.
Rescue teams have intensified searches for the missing in the worst-hit border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, deploying additional personnel to scan flood channels and vulnerable areas.
The 250-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, remained blocked at Deohal bridge, Samroli and Jakhani in Udhampur district and Banihal in Ramban district.
“Jammu-Srinagar national highway is still closed for vehicular movement due to landslides and shooting stones at several locations,” a traffic police advisory said.
Officials said restoration work was underway but continuous rainfall was hampering debris clearance and repair operations.
More than 1,000 vehicles remained stranded at Ramban, Nagrota, Jammu, Udhampur, Lakhanpur and Samba due to the highway closure. Commuters have been advised to avoid travel until the road is declared safe.
Besides the national highway, over a dozen inter-district roads, including the Doda-Kishtwar road, remained closed due to landslides, mudslides and road erosion. However, the Mughal Road and the Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri (SSG) road remained open despite heavy rainfall.
To facilitate the movement of stranded passengers, Northern Railway operated a special train from Budgam and Banihal to Katra. More than 600 stranded tourists were also shifted from Srinagar to Jammu, officials said.
The Meteorological Department forecast rainfall over parts of Jammu, particularly the Chenab valley, Udhampur, Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, with South Kashmir expected to receive significant precipitation. Weather conditions are likely to improve gradually after the afternoon, though scattered showers may continue till evening.
Officials said almost all rivers and streams were flowing above normal levels, while flash floods inundated several low-lying areas, damaging houses, shops and public infrastructure.
Rescue and relief operations involving the civil administration, police, SDRF, NDRF and other agencies continued across the affected districts.
The administration said the Amarnath, Mata Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori and Machail pilgrimages would remain suspended for the day, with pilgrims advised to stay at designated base camps and lodging centres.
“In view of the inclement weather forecast issued by the IMD, the Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra shall remain suspended till further orders. Accordingly, no vehicle carrying yatra pilgrims shall be allowed to proceed from Jammu, Udhampur or Ramban towards Srinagar,” an official advisory said.
More than 15,000 pilgrims are stranded at base camps and lodging centres in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Ramban and Banihal, while security personnel have been deployed along the highway to prevent movement towards Kashmir.
Heavy rainfall lashed several parts of Jammu during the past 24 hours, with Udhampur recording the highest precipitation of 96.5 mm till 8.30 a.m. on Friday, followed by Batote (84.2 mm), Ramban (69.5 mm) and Bhaderwah (65.7 mm), according to rainfall data.
In the Jammu region, Katra received 45.1 mm of rainfall, Kathua 44.8 mm, Banihal 38.3 mm, Doda 35 mm, Reasi 27.5 mm, Kishtwar 27 mm, Jammu Airport 26 mm, Jammu city 25.2 mm, and Poonch 7.5 mm, while Rajouri recorded no rainfall.