The strategic Srinagar-Ladakh highway was closed for vehicular traffic due to mudslides that occurred due to a cloud burst, also causing damage to paddy fields in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Sunday, officials said.
They said the cloudburst in the Kawcherwan Kangan area triggered mudslides that closed the Srinagar-Ladakh highway for vehicular traffic, besides causing damage to paddy fields. Several vehicles also got stuck in the debris, and houses were inundated due to water, causing damage to the property.
However, there was no report of any loss of life in the incident, they said.
A canal at the road near Padawbal is overflowing, letting accumulation of mud at the road.
“Srinagar Kargil road is blocked due to a cloudburst hit in the Kawcherwan Kangan area,” Jammu and Kashmir traffic police posted on X.
Several villages in the Kangan area have also been severely affected by a series of cloudbursts, causing widespread damage to roads, houses, and crops, the locals said.
They said that the cloud bursts occurred in the villages of Kawcharwan, Cherwa, and Padabal, triggering mudslides that have blocked the Srinagar National Highway, besides causing damage to paddy fields, roads, and houses.
The authorities have pressed into service men and machinery to clear the road at Kawcharwan to restore traffic on the highway.
