Chandigarh: Torrential rains across northern India have brought life to a standstill, disrupting road, rail, and air services. Jammu division has been the worst hit, where relentless downpours caused massive flooding, landslides, and damage to bridges and roads, forcing the suspension and cancellation of several train services.
The Northern Railway announced the cancellation of 22 trains scheduled to depart from or arrive at Jammu and Katra stations on August 27. In addition, 27 trains in the Jammu division were short-terminated. The disruptions include nine trains from Katra, the base camp for the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, and one from Jammu, while several others bound for Jammu, Katra, and Udhampur were also affected.
In Punjab, Northern Railway orders confirmed the cancellation of three trains—15656 Jammutavi–Kamakhya, 12920 Jammutavi–Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, and 12472 Jammutavi–Bandra Terminus—until August 27. Two more, 18102 Jammutavi–Sambalpur and 12238 Jammutavi–Varanasi, were short-terminated.
Jammu recorded more than 250 mm of rainfall within 24 hours, the heaviest in decades, leaving residential and agricultural areas submerged. Thousands have been forced to evacuate to safer locations. Meanwhile, landslides and flash floods along the Pathankot–Kandrore stretch and the Chakki river forced suspension of services, with 27 trains short-terminated at Firozpur, Manda, Chak Rakhwal, and Pathankot. Rail operations between Katra and Srinagar, however, remain functional.
On Tuesday afternoon, tragedy struck when a landslide on the Trikuta hills route to the Mata Vaishno Devi temple killed six people and injured more than a dozen others. The disaster underscores the severity of the ongoing weather crisis in the region.
