File photo: Armymen making bunds on the banks of river Jhelum to safeguard overflowing of river water in Srinagar on Thursday. (PTI)
Overnight rains stopped and overcast sky gave way to a bright sun in Kashmir Valley which was reeling under wet weather for the last seven days leading to flooding in some low lying areas and triggering landslides that left 16 people dead and hundreds homeless.
The meteorological department has forecast that the weather will remain mostly dry over the state during the next four days. However, light to moderate rain or thundershowers would occur at some places during the next 24 hours.
Heavy rains, which started lashing Srinagar and other parts of the Valley last night, stopped around forenoon today and there was no major change in the water level in the Jhelum river which started receding yesterday after crossing the danger mark the previous day.
The sky got clear this afternoon amid special prayers after overnight heavy rains sparked fresh apprehensions of deluge among the denizens of the Valley -- still overcoming the massive destruction caused by floods in September last year.
At 2 PM, the Jhelum river was flowing at 15.50 feet at Sangam in south Kashmir -- nearly eight feet below the danger mark, while the water-level at Ram Munshi Bagh in the city was 15.80 feet, an official of the Flood Control Department said.
With Meteorological department predicting mostly dry weather during the next four days, most of the government and private schools reopened today after remaining closed due to the inclement weather and looming threat of floods.
However, some schools in Srinagar and other areas of the Valley remained closed due to water-logging.
The decision to re-open the schools was taken yesterday after some improvement in the weather conditions, the officials said.
Authorities had announced closure of all the schools on Monday after the Valley was lashed by heavy rains which led to alarming rise in the water level in the Jhelum river and other water bodies including the Dal Lake.
The normal business activities also resumed in Lal Chowk, nerve centre of the city, and other business centres.
People were seen wishing each other and thanking almighty for the improvement in weather.
A spokesman of the MET office here said Srinagar recorded 13.5 MM of rainfall till 8.30 AM today.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Gazanfar Hussain yesterday said that 369 villages in the Valley were affected by the rise in the levels of the Jhelum river and other water bodies. "There were 16 deaths in Budgam. No loss of life was reported from anywhere else in the Valley. 129 bridges, mostly small, were damaged, 164 water supply schemes suffered damage and 607 schemes and works of Irrigation department were also damaged by the waters," he said.
He said the administration had set-up 41 relief camps for the people of the district here in which 458 people, belonging to 75 families, were currently residing.
Hussain said the administration got sufficient time to prepare for the floods this time compared to the last year. "We got sufficient time this time around and were in a better position to deal with the rise in water levels. Though there was panic, we took steps to address that panic and overcame it," he said.