J&K floods: death toll climbs to 277

The death toll due to the floods in Jammu and Kashmir has climbed to 277 even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today expressed hope that the toll would not be as high as feared earlier.

"The death toll in Jammu is 203 including the 44 members of a marriage party whose bus was washed away (in Rajouri district)," Omar told PTI.

He said the rescue workers have so far recovered 74 bodies from different parts of the Kashmir Valley.

Omar also dismissed rumours that some bodies had swept away to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"There is no truth in these rumours," he added.

The state is facing a shortage of nearly 12 lakh measles vaccines, which they will now purchase from the open market., the CM added.

"As of yesterday, about Rs 55 crore were deposited in the CM Relief fund, most of it from seven or eight states," he said. 

 

The deluge has also washed away crops worth Rs 365 crore and 13,000 hectares of cultivable land.

"Loss of Rs 365 crore has been caused to crops in Jammu region in the flash floods", Director, Agriculture, Jammu, S S Jamwal told PTI.