Nearly two dozen shops were buried under the debris of a massive landslide in Bhaleesa area of Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said.
A police official said that a landslide hit the Bathri market, 60 KM from Doda town at around 4:15AM, burying 14 commercial structures which housed nearly two dozen shops. However, no loss of life was reported, he said.
“According to initial reports, 14 structures consisting of nearly two dozen shops got completely buried under the debris of the massive landslide,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Bhadarwah, Raj Singh Gouria, told Greater Kashmir over telephone from the spot.
He said they have started a rescue operation with the help of locals. “The district administration has been informed about the incident with a request to immediately send the machines to remove the debris from the road,” he said.
A local resident, Rubina Begum (29) told Greater Kashmir that the landslide felt like an earthquake.
“It felt like an earthquake and there was thundering and loud banging. We were sleeping when the landslide took place. All of us ran out,” Begum said.
The Chenab region is among the most disaster-prone areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
