Flood control minister says 'conditions normal' in Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir's Minister for Flood Control Sukhnandan Kumar on Thursday assured that the situation in the valley is getting better and the state was receiving the Centre's full support.

"The Met department said there can be slight rainfall for two days but it rained quite heavily yesterday in Kashmir and Jammu. The condition is normal now and there has been no breach on Jhelum River," Sukhnandan told ANI.

"The water may increase a little today, but it will go down later. We are fully prepared. We are getting full support of Prime Minister Modi. Our teams are on standby," he added.

His assertions come as the water level in the Dal Lake started rising once again today after fresh rainfall hit the valley. The army, police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), however, are fully prepared to handle any kind of emergency.

Meanwhile, tour operators and hoteliers in the state have urged people not to cancel their trips to the valley and said the government and the media are blowing the news of Kashmir floods out of proportion.

Traders from the tourism industry say the recent flash floods in Kashmir have hit the tourism sector badly. Low influx of tourists during the spring has affected their business.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly had yesterday erupted in uproar over the flood situation and the state government's response to the same.

Heavy rains and a landslide in the valley have killed 17 people so far.

Fifteen people were killed when a hillside collapsed onto a house in Ledhan village, about 40 km (25 miles) from Srinagar, before dawn on Monday. Army and police used shovels and diggers to search for the missing.

Police said two other people died in flash floods in another part of the state.

Hundreds of people have fled their homes as Kashmir's main rivers began to swell and weather forecasters predicted further downpours in the region that was struck by devastating floods just seven months ago.