Jitendra Singh assures families worried about kin in Jammu; electricity, connectivity restored

Jammu, Aug 27 (IANS) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday appealed for patience to those people living outside Jammu and Kashmir, who have expressed concern about their near and dear ones residing in the Jammu division.

Jitendra Singh assured these people that electricity and mobile connectivity has been restored though partially so far and as most mobile phones are now working in Jammu division, the families of those working here can now contact them.

Taking to X, he wrote: “I am receiving calls and messages from different parts of the country expressing concern at not being able to reach their families living in the Jammu division, nor being able to reach the helpline numbers posted on this handle this morning. This is so because of the severely disrupted telecom network in the region."

“Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar has been suggested to get the public helplines restored on priority, so that with immediate effect there could be at least one viable communication channel available which could convey the messages further on.

"He says he shall try to get this done in the next one hour or so. Meanwhile, many an individual non-functioning mobile connections have started getting restored after around 4 p.m. As for electricity, nearly 40 per cent has been restored but one can’t advise haste because there is water logged all over with an imminent risk of short circuit," Jitendra Singh wrote on X.

By Wednesday evening, 60 per cent electricity was restored in Jammu city and both mobile Internet and telephone services were restored by some service providers as others said the same would be restored by midnight.

Water level in all the rivers of Jammu division have started receding as rain intensity has appreciably reduced.

Jhelum river in the Kashmir Valley has, however, crossed the flood alert at both Sangam in Anantnag district and at Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar city.

Authorities said there is no impending threat of flood in the Kashmir Valley as the Met Office has forecast fair weather on Thursday.

Water entered Anantnag town on Wednesday and the Rajbagh area in Srinagar because of a minor breach in the Jhelum river.

--IANS

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