Srinagar: Scores of houses and other structures were damaged due to cloudburst in central Kashmir district of Ganderbal, official sources said on Monday.
Traffic on Srinagar-Leh national highway was also disrupted for several hours due to land and mudslide, triggered by heavy rain, they added.
Cloudburst late Sunday night resulted in a major increase in the water level in the local nullah at Surfraw- Bula in Kangan in Ganderbal.
Police parties headed by Station House Officer (SHO) Kangan and Ganderbal besides personnel from SDRF immediately swung into action and rescued large number of people, including women, children and elderly persons living in the houses on both sides of the nullah.
Several houses were damaged, they said, adding that the affected families were taken to safer places. The rescue operation continued throughout the night.
Exact details about the damage to property were being ascertained. No loss of life was reported.
There was also land and mudslide on the highway connecting Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) immediately swung into action and cleared the road for one-way traffic, they said, adding that work to allow two-way traffic was going on when the reports last came in.
A traffic police official told UNI that traffic on the highway has been restored. Today, vehicles will ply from Ladakh to Srinagar, he added.
He said Kashmir-bound vehicles had to cross Minamarg between 0700 hrs to 1400 hrs. No vehicle will be allowed before and after cut off timing, he further added.