Jammu, Jun 18:
The mercury dipped appreciably below normal for this time of the season in Jammu city on Tuesday, giving the residents some respite from the blistering heat, a Meteorological Department spokesperson said. The weatherman has forecast rains in isolated places across Jammu and Kashmir during the next five days. The maximum and the minimum temperature in state’s winter capital Jammu fell by several degrees below the average for this part of the season, the MeT spokesperson said. The day temperature in Jammu was 2.8 notches below normal during this part of the season, while the night temperature was 3.8 notches below the average. The maximum temperature here dropped by 4.8 notches compared to the previous day to settle at 35.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature took a dip of 4.5 notches and settled at 21.7 degrees Celsius. After experiencing heatwave conditions over the past fortnight, with day temperature touching the season’s high of 44.4 degrees Celsius and night temperature of 31.2 degrees Celsius on June 10, a heavy cloud cover cocooned Jammu city on Monday evening, followed by showers. The city recorded 3.9 mm rain till 8.30 am on Tuesday. The MeT department predicted scattered light rains and thundershowers on June 19, 23 and 24 and isolated rains between June 20 and 22 in entire Jammu and Kashmir regions.
Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district, recorded a high of 33.5 degrees Celsius and a low of 20.2 degrees Celsius, while the summer capital Srinagar continued to enjoy pleasant weather with a maximum of 26.5 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 10.9 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) has expressed resentment over the “worst kind of water and power situation” in most parts of the Jammu region despite the blistering heat.
“People of most parts of Jammu region are facing acute shortage of drinking water and the authorities have failed to meet minimum needs of the people. There is no proper supply and the required number of water tankers have also not been pressed into service,” JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.
He claimed that common people are forced to spend money on private water tankers to meet their requirements of drinking water. “The power scenario is also quite bad, as long power cuts during this scorching heat are causing great hardships to the people,” Sharma said, urging the government to address the “crisis” urgently.
