J-K: Massive landslide crushes petrol pump on Udhampur highway, Dhar road blocked by boulders

UDHAMPUR (Jammu and Kashmir): A massive landslide, triggered by rainfall, occurred near Balinallah on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Udhampur on Sunday, crushing a petrol pump under its debris.

The owner of the petrol pump, Jai Pal Singh Jamwal, claimed that the incident happened around 6.30-7 pm. “This incident happened around 7 pm… There was a crack in the mountain nearby, which caused the load on the petrol pump to be very high, due to which this whole collapse happened”, Jamwal said.

Jamwal further claimed that there were no casualties. He said, “There was no loss because we all could see that the mountain was cracking. So, we had already taken out all the stuff. The shift boys had also moved aside. We had also shut down our sale and stopped the tankers. The fire brigade vehicle had also come here because we still have some stock lying with us…”

Moreover, Fire Officer Sunil said that the fire department reached the petrol pump as soon as they received the call. “It was raining continuously since morning… We saw a huge landslide here, which caused the hill to fall down. There was no loss of life here, but there was a lot of damage to the HP petrol pump. The landslide is still going on”, Sunil said.

On Monday, the Dhar road in Udhampur’s Dudar Nullah was blocked after massive boulders slid down mountains. A local stated that the fallen boulders had affected the moving vehicles.

“The route is blocked in Dudhar Nallah at Dhar Road..There are big rocks here. People are very upset. It happened in the morning…This has been happening all monsoon…People are trying to cross this road to reach Udhampur. A bus is trying to help the stranded people reach there…People are trying to get to the bus”, the local said.

#WATCH | Udhampur, J&K: Massive boulder slides from the mountain, blocking Dhar Road at Dudhar Nullah. pic.twitter.com/icoiel2mY9

— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2025

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday held a meeting with officials at Raj Bhavan in Jammu to take stock of the flood situation in parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union MoS Jitendra Singh were also present during the meeting.

This came after Singh visited a government hospital in Jammu to meet victims who sustained injuries in the Kishtwar cloudburst incident, and lauded the efforts of the doctors of the medical college for taking care of the injured with complete dedication.

While addressing the reporters in the presence of Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the Union Minister stated that all patients were out of danger and were recovering well.

“I also wanted to go to the spot, but due to bad weather, it is not possible to go there. And it has also been informed that there has been a landslide, so the vehicle could not move forward. All the patients have recovered and are recovering well. And I want to congratulate all the doctors of this medical college for taking care of all the injured people with full dedication, and all are in good condition,” Singh said.

A cloudburst occurred in Kishtwar during the Machail Mata Yatra on August 14, in which over 60 people were killed. The cloudburst led to sudden flash floods during the pilgrimage, resulting in widespread destruction and deaths. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Jammu and Kashmir Police, CISF, Indian Army and the local administration were engaged in rescue efforts. (ANI)