Kashmir Impulse Desk

Ganderbal, June 14

A cloudburst in a forested area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district triggered flooding and a mudslide on Sunday, inundating homes and damaging agricultural land, officials and residents said.

The cloudburst occurred in the Darend forest area and led to a sudden surge of water and debris into the Padshahi Canal, causing an overflow in the Reshipora area, officials said.

Residents said several houses and large tracts of paddy fields were submerged after water breached parts of the canal network, resulting in significant losses.

“We have suffered losses worth lakhs of rupees,” said resident Ali Muhammad, who accused authorities of failing to carry out adequate desilting and maintenance work despite repeated requests from residents.

Villagers said they had repeatedly urged the concerned department to dredge and maintain the canal to reduce the risk of flooding.

The affected residents appealed to the district administration to assess the damage and provide compensation to affected families and farmers.

Officials said assessment teams had been alerted to evaluate losses and that authorities remained vigilant amid prevailing weather conditions.

Flash floods and cloudburst-related incidents are common in the Himalayan region during periods of intense rainfall, often damaging infrastructure, homes and agricultural land.