Jammu:Rivers in the Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir are overflowing amid torrential rainfall in the union territory for the fourth consecutive day.Heavy downpour has caused devastation in several panchayats and blocks of Udhampur such as Ghordi block and Ritti panchayat. Sarpanch of the Ritti panchayat requested people to stay indoors and not venture out near river areas.Officials on Thursday said the water level in major rivers and streams in the Jammu region is rising but there is no immediate threat of floods.They added that several hilly areas in different parts of Jammu were closed due to landslides triggered by overnight rains. As per reports, five people, including a couple and number of cattle died in separate incidents of landslides and house collapse in different parts of the region.Residents in several areas reported incidents of water from overflowing streams entering their residences and pedestrians struggled to walk through water logged roads in order to reach their destination. Officials too pointed out that a number of roads in several localities were damaged adding that a clear picture about the extent of damage would emerge after a detailed assessment is carried out.Meanwhile, The 270-km long Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only road that links J-K with the rest of India continued to remain closed due to which thousands of vehicles, mostly trucks remained totally stranded. A traffic department official said restoration work is going on to ensure early reopening of the road despite the bad weather conditions.
