Flash floods damage houses, botanical garden, fish farm in Kokernag

At least two residential houses were washed away while Fish Hatchery and Botanical Garden suffered extensive damage in flash floods caused by cloudburst in Kokernag area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district Wednesday night.

Witnesses said there was massive increase in the level of water in Brengi Nallah after a cloudburst.

“Two houses in adjoining villages of Kokernag, belonging to Ghulam Rasool Sheikh of Zalangam and Abdul Rashid of Bindoo, were washed away by the flash floods. A car was also washed away. No casualty was reported though,” an official said.

He said that several houses were also damaged in Kokernag and adjoining Bidder and Zalangam villages. “30 houses in Bidder, 19 in Zalangam and a dozen in Kokernag suffered extensive or partial damage,” the official said.

He said that several structures of Kokernag Development Authority (KDA) and Tourism department were also damaged.

“The botanical garden of Floriculture

Department was also damaged by the flash floods,” said an official. He said that the waters from the Nallah submerged the garden, damaging its flora.

One of the biggest government-owned Trout Fish Hatcheries in the valley was also extensively damaged. “The sale counter as well as the race ways and dam suffered damages,” said Abdul Majid Tak, Chief Project Officer (CPO) Fisheries Kokernag said, adding that almost all fish were washed away by flash floods.

Tak, however, said that there was no damage to hutments of Fisheries department.