6 killed in landslides as floods damage orchards, crops in Jammu and Kashmir

​​​​​​​By Nusrat Sidiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - At least six people were killed and five rescued in landslides that have caused damage to orchards and crops in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, officials said Thursday.

The deaths of native Kashmiri residents were in the Kullu region of neighboring Himachal Pradesh state, where they worked as laborers.

They "had travelled to the hill state to earn their livelihood and were asleep when the sudden slide buried the structure," according to the Kashmir Life news outlet.

The region's top elected official, Omar Abdullah, expressed "grief" about the tragedy.

The landslides and floods forced the suspension of railway services between the Jammu and Katra districts in Jammu and Kashmir for a second consecutive day in the region.

Following heavy rainfall, southern areas, as well as the capital of Srinagar in the Kashmir valley, had seen swelling rivers and flooding, causing damage to orchards, standing crops and residential structures.

The floods swept through the lush apple orchards and crop fields in the Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam districts in southern Kashmir.

“Damage is extensive and our whole crops, orchards are gone,” Mohammad Sameer Bhat, a resident from Anantnag district, told Anadolu.

For a second consecutive day, educational institutions remained closed on Thursday.

But in a ray of hope, the water levels in the main River Jhelum started to recede early Thursday, after rising to between 7 and 10 feet (2 -3 meters) at various points, according to the Irrigation and Flood Control agency.

The river breached the bund at various places and inundated low-lying areas, forcing residents to move to safer places.

“At least 9,000 people were evacuated to safer locations and provided necessary relief materials,” the Kashmir division's top official, Anshul Garg, said Thursday.

Major flooding appears to have been averted, however, one expert said residents need to "respect" environmental safeguards.

For years, "we have been allowed to destroy our environment through unplanned projects, illegal mining, construction, and pollution," said environmental activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.

“We are seeing this destruction because we have never respected environmental safeguards, as it is only the common man who is suffering,” added Bhat.