Nearly 1,500 trucks carrying supplies stuck on way to flood-hit Kashmir

Jammu: Nearly 1,500 trucks carrying essential supplies to Kashmir were on Tuesday stranded on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway as sections of the road were washed away in the flash floods, cutting off the Valley from the rest of the country. [caption id=“attachment_1703611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Around 1500 trucks were stuck on the way to flood-hit Kashmir. Reuters[/caption] Officials said stretches of the over 300-km long highway have either been washed away by flash floods or have been buried under a landslide. The highway has suffered the maximum damage at the Ramsu area of the Ramban district where around 40 meters of the road has been completely washed away. The highway remained closed for the sixth day on Tuesday. The state is witnessing the worst floods in six decades. Authorities Tuesday said that 160 people had died in the floods in the state, but the exact magnitude of death and destruction will be known only later. The local television and radio stations in Valley remained off air and there was patchy telecom connectivity between the Valley and the rest of the country. Seven bodies were recovered Tuesday morning in Sadal village of the Udhampur district, while the army said 31 people were still missing. On Monday, the army carried out several sorties in this area to help the marooned people. Two bodies were recovered in the Manmjakot village of Rajouri district on late Monday. Over 2,000 houses in the Jammu region have become uninhabitable as these have been completely or partially damaged. The weather was dry in the Jammu region Tuesday morning, which is likely to facilitate rescue by the army and other security forces. The Mata Vaishno Devi yatra was suspended for the third day Monday and MK Bhandari, the deputy CEO of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, said a decision about resuming the yatra will be taken later in the day. IANS