Ramban (J-K), Apr 21 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday reached Maroog in Ramban district to assess the ground situation in the aftermath of flash floods and landslides there a day ago.

Three persons, including two minor siblings, were killed and more than 100 people were rescued after cloudburst-induced floods and landslides on Sunday caused massive damage to infrastructure, including roads and residential buildings. The Jammu-Srinagar national highway suffered extensive damages while several vehicles remained buried under the debris.

Abdullah was scheduled to visit the calamity-affected areas but bad weather did not allow helicopter operation. However, the chief minister travelled by road after he was informed that the Banihal sector of the highway has been cleared, officials said.

Braving fresh rains, Abdullah reached Maroog at around 5.30 pm and moved by foot towards the flood-hit areas to take stock of the situation, officials said.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary along with Ramban MLA Arjun Singh Raju and Banihal MLA Sajad Shaheen visited the flood-affected areas on Sunday evening on directions of the chief minister who was in Delhi then.

Abdullah reached Srinagar on Monday morning and announced that he would visit Ramban later in the day.

Earlier, National Highways Authority of India project director Purshottam Kumar said they are faced with a challenging situation due to massive deposits of muck on the highway at more than a dozen places, especially on the four-kilometre stretch between Seri and Maroog.

“The height of the sludge at some places is more than 20 feet,” he said, adding the highway was likely to take five to six days to reopen for traffic. PTI COR TAS TAS RUK RUK