Heavy Rain, Snowfall Likely In J&K, Ladakh, Himachal Over Next 2-3 Days

New Delhi: Parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh are likely to receive heavy rain and snowfall over the next two to three days due to an intense western disturbance, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The weather office also issued an “orange alert” for these places. This is the first intense western disturbance of the season and its impact will be felt in northwest and central India till October 17, IMD said.

According to the weather office, a cyclonic circulation, formed over central Pakistan due to western disturbance, is likely to intensify and merge with a fresh western disturbance on October 15.

The system is expected to receive moisture from Arabian Sea that could lead to increased rainfall over northwest India during the same period, IMD said.

The weather office predicted heavy rain in Punjab on Monday. Parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan could also witness thunderstorms and lightning.

Notably, western disturbances are weather systems that originate in the Mediterranean region and bring unseasonal rainfall to northwest India.

The IMD also said that dry northwesterly winds from the Himalayas could bring the temperatures down by 2 to 4 notches over northwest India from October 17.

NGT Seeks Report From NHAI Over Highway Construction In Beas Floodplains

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) formed a panel and sought report from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the alleged construction of a highway in the floodplains of the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, news agency PTI reported.

The green tribunal was hearing a plea which alleged that the NHAI is constructing a four-lane highway from Kiratpur to Manali and Pathankot to Mandi in a flood-prone area near the Beas River.

A bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel hearing the petition said it was “proper to call for a report” from the authorities concerned on the issue, PTI reported.