Woman electrocuted to death; shops flooded, vehicles submerged as brief downpour exposes city’s drainage failure
Srinagar : A spell of heavy rainfall lasting nearly two hours on Monday brought large parts of Srinagar to a standstill, exposing what residents described as the failure of the city’s drainage system, while a 65-year-old woman lost her life after being electrocuted amid the downpour in the downtown area.
The intense rainfall inundated several localities across the city, particularly in Downtown Srinagar, where roads turned into streams, vehicles were stranded in floodwaters, shops were flooded, and residents struggled to navigate through waterlogged streets.
Among the worst-hit areas were Nowpora Safakadal, Sakidafar, Ganderpora Eidgah, Waniyar, Rathpora, Daulatabad Khanyar, Main Chowk Khanyar, Naid Kadal, Zadi Masjid Safakadal, Rajouri Kadal, Firdous Colony Eidgah, Khanyar, Fateh Kadal, Babdemb and several adjoining localities.
Videos that surfaced on social media showed cars and auto-rickshaws partially submerged in water, commuters wading through flooded roads and traffic moving at a snail’s pace as rainwater accumulated rapidly across low-lying areas.
The rainfall turned tragic in Naid Kadal, where a woman died after coming into contact with a live electric current.
Officials said that the deceased, identified as Shamima Makhdoomi (65), wife of Ghulam Nabi and a resident of Naid Kadal, received an electric shock after touching an electric pole during the rainfall. She was shifted to a hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared her brought dead.
As residents came to terms with the tragedy, anger mounted across affected localities, with many questioning how a city could be thrown into chaos after only a brief spell of rain.
At Khanyar Chowk, several shopkeepers were seen removing water from their premises and salvaging damaged goods hours after the rain had stopped.
Residents said the scenes witnessed across Srinagar reflected years of neglect, poor planning and the failure to upgrade drainage infrastructure despite repeated assurances by successive governments.
Several residents said the situation was particularly alarming because the city struggled to cope with a relatively short spell of rainfall, raising concerns about its preparedness for more intense weather events in the future.
The residents urged Omar Abdullah-led government and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to identify vulnerable zones, modernise drainage infrastructure, improve monitoring mechanisms and ensure accountability of departments responsible for recurring urban flooding.
They said Monday’s downpour once again highlighted the urgent need for long-term solutions, warning that unless concrete measures are taken, Srinagar will continue to witness the same scenes of flooding, disruption and public suffering whenever heavy rainfall occurs
