A two-month-old baby girl and her mother were among four members of a family buried alive under the debris of their house that collapsed on Sunday morning due to a landslide in the Reasi district of Jammu.
The family was asleep when the landslide, triggered by heavy rains in the area, hit their house.
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The deceased have been identified as Fhalla Akhter (30) and her daughters Nasima (5), Safeena (3), and Samreen (2 months) in the Kunderdhan Mohra village in Chassana tehsil of Reasi.
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Two elderly members of the family, Kalu (60) and his wife Bano Begum (58), who suffered injuries, have been shifted to the hospital.
Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan said heavy rains lashed the area during the past 24 hours.
Former chief ministers and National Conference (NC) leaders, Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, expressed grief over the tragic incident. They demanded that the government should provide relief to the family and rehabilitate them immediately.
They also expressed concern over the extensive damages suffered by the people in the upper areas of Kulgam and Anantnag due to strong winds last night.
Meanwhile, more than 200 government buildings, private houses, and shops were damaged due to high-velocity winds in the Ramban and Kishtwar districts and also the Verinag area of South Kashmir.
CPI (M) Secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik expressed deep concern over the massive damage caused to households, orchardists, residential houses, structures, rooftops, and orchards due to heavy windstorms and incessant rains across Jammu and Kashmir since yesterday.
He said the administration must direct the revenue authorities to assess the losses immediately so that compensation and relief could be provided to the victims well in time.
Meanwhile, the police warned the people against venturing near the rivers in spate due to heavy rains.
Authorities of the Baghiliar hydroelectric project have also warned of rising water levels in the Chenab River.
The Kishtwar district police sounded an alert saying an incident of avalanche had occurred in the Lahaul & Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh due to which the flow of River Chanab has significantly reduced in the Padder area of the Kishtwar district. All residents of Kishtwar have been asked to stay away from the banks of River Chanab.
Higher areas of J&K and Ladakh received heavy snowfall resulting in the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, Srinagar-Leh, and Mughal Roads.
Men of the Border Roads Organization, PWD, and highways authority of India were engaged in removing landslides and snow from the roads.
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