Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary today said that the government is considering allotment of 5 marla land plots to the eligible families hit by flash floods at village Bagra in Kathua district on the intervening night of 16th and 17th August 2025.

The Deputy Chief Minister was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to a question raised by Legislator Dr. Bharat Bushan in the Legislative Assembly today.

He said that as per SDRF norms, a compensation of Rs. 4 lakh each was released in favour of the Next of Kin (NOK) of the deceased and additional Rs. 2 lakh each was also released through the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. He added that Chairman, Red Cross Society Kathua (Deputy Commissioner Kathua) also released Rs. 50,000 compensation each to the NOKs of the deceased.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that heavy flash floods triggered by flash rains and landslides occurred in several areas of Village Bagra, which resulted in unfortunate loss of two persons and damages to various private and public properties.

He informed the House that seven houses fully damaged during the flash floods were duly compensated as per SDRF guidelines. He added that temporary restoration measures have been taken by the district administration while  the line departments are taking further necessary action for permanent restoration. He said that during this period, the affected families were shifted to safe lodgement centres, where all basic amenities like food, water, medicines and blankets were provided to them.

The Deputy CM added that the link road in Bagra has been damaged to a length of 1.20 km and some temporarily restored stretches will be fully reinstated by August 2026.

He said that during the recent spell of heavy rainfall/flash floods, certain low-lying areas of Kathua Town were affected, resulting in damage to residential houses and property, particularly in areas located near natural drainage channels and Kathua Khad. He said that due to sudden heavy discharge of rainwater, Kathua Khad experienced overflow at several vulnerable locations, causing erosion of embankments.

He added that the proposal of channelization and protection work in Sahar Khad has been duly incorporated in the DPRs titled “Construction of flood protection works on Sahar Khad/Maggar Khad/Sukhal Khad and other tributaries of river Ravi” under NABARD, with a total estimated cost of Rs. 1500.71 lakh.

He said that the DPR is presently under process with the Jal Shakti Department for obtaining requisite approval.