Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, June 2

Two people died in separate weather-related incidents, and widespread hailstorms damaged orchards and crops across Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, while heavy rain triggered flash floods and disrupted road connectivity in parts of the Jammu region.

A man died, and his wife was critically injured after strong winds uprooted a tree that fell on them in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, officials said.

The couple was walking along the Janglat Mandi-Lal Chowk road when the tree collapsed during a spell of gusty winds.

The injured were taken to Government Medical College, Anantnag, where Muhammad Rafiq Kujwal, a resident of Brari Angan in Shangus, was declared dead. His wife, Marina, remained in critical condition, officials said.

The incident also damaged several parked vehicles and briefly disrupted traffic before police, municipal workers and emergency teams cleared the road.

In a separate incident, a 24-year-old woman died after being struck by lightning in Doda district, officials said.

The victim, identified as Pinki Devi of Khuddhar village in the Kashtigarh area, was grazing sheep and goats near her home when lightning struck during adverse weather conditions, they said.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said he was monitoring the situation arising from heavy rainfall and flash floods in Doda and Kishtwar districts.

He said he had directed local authorities to remain on alert, restore damaged infrastructure and provide assistance to affected families.

Heavy rainfall also triggered flash flood-like conditions in parts of Kishtwar and Doda after cloudbursts were reported in the Gahan Sarthal and Machipal areas, officials said.

District authorities said sudden surges in water levels disrupted road connectivity at several locations, including Drabshalla Zero Point, Suru-Sarthal, Gan and Machipal.

Restoration work was underway, and emergency response teams had been deployed to assess damage and reopen affected routes.

Traffic on the Doda-Kishtwar National Highway was disrupted after landslides and debris blocked stretches of the road near Thathri and Drabshalla.

Officials said machinery had been pressed into service to clear the affected sections.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said preliminary reports indicated no casualties or major property damage from the cloudbursts, adding that police, revenue and disaster management teams had been deployed to monitor the situation.

Across Kashmir, hailstorms accompanied by heavy rain swept through several districts, damaging apple orchards and standing crops during a critical stage of the growing season.

Farmers in Kulgam, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Ganderbal, and Bandipora reported extensive losses, with some growers estimating damage to orchards at between 50 percent and 80 percent.

In Pulwama district, residents said marble-sized hailstones fell for up to 20 minutes, damaging fruit-bearing apple trees and vegetable crops in areas including Pampore, Tral and Pulwama town.

Similar damage was reported from Kulgam, where repeated hailstorms in recent weeks have affected orchards and agricultural land.

Farmers said the latest storm was the third major hail event to hit some villages this season.

In Anantnag’s Kuthar-Shangus belt, orchard owners reported substantial losses to fruit-bearing trees, while growers in villages along the Bijbehara-Pahalgam axis also reported damage.

Hailstorms also struck parts of Ganderbal district, including Kangan, Wussan, and Anderwan, where farmers said apple blossoms, cherry crops and vegetable fields were affected.

In north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, hail damaged orchards, vegetables and standing crops in several villages.

Local political leaders called for immediate damage assessment and compensation for affected farmers.

The apple industry, a key contributor to Kashmir’s economy, has been hit repeatedly by extreme weather this season, raising concerns among growers over declining yields and mounting financial losses.

Farmers also renewed demands for the implementation of a crop insurance scheme, saying repeated weather-related damage had left many growers struggling to repay agricultural loans.

Meanwhile, strong winds damaged a house and a shop in separate incidents in Kupwara district.

No injuries were reported, but residents said the structures suffered significant damage after roofs were blown away during the storm.

The Meteorological Department had earlier forecast rain, thundershowers and gusty winds across J&K and advised residents to avoid vulnerable structures, overhead power lines and old trees during periods of severe weather.