Srinagar, Sep 4 (IANS) An overnight let up in rains in Jammu and Kashmir helped the authorities resume relief operations Monday in the several areas submerged due to incessant rains in the last three days.

The south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Pulwama were the worst hit, with the swollen Jhelum and its tributaries devastating standing paddy crops, houses and livestock swept away.

Scores of villages and localities in the state's summer capital were still flooded and efforts were on to drain out the water, officials said.

"We have pressed into service 64 de-watering pumps in the capital. We feel the worst is over," Flood Control Minister Muhammad Dilawar Mir told IANS here.

Thousands of people from the flooded areas in Srinagar and suburbs were evacuated, a senior officer said.

Authorities were busy in a massive relief operation as the weather improved Monday. Life in the entire Kashmir valley had been paralysed due to rain and floods.

Traffic remained off the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the supply lifeline of the valley, for the fifth consecutive day.

The state government ordered closure of schools and colleges for two days till Tuesday. The school buildings were being used as temporary relief centres for the flood affected.