Also Read
A coordinated rescue and relief operation continued for the third consecutive day on Saturday in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, where 60 people lost their lives and over 100 others were injured, officials said.
So far, 46 bodies have been identified and handed over to their next of kin after completion of legal formalities.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday reached Chasoti village in Kishtwar to assess the damage.
A senior army officer, supervising the relief and rescue operation, briefed Abdullah at the scene about the ongoing operation. The chief minister was also provided with a virtual reality headset to understand the extent of damage caused by the flash floods.
Meanwhile, 75 persons have been reported missing by their families, although locals and eyewitnesses claim that hundreds may have been swept away by flash floods and buried under giant boulders, logs, and rubble.
The disaster struck Chisoti—the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple, at approximately 12:25 pm on August 14. It flattened a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen) site for the yatra, and a security outpost.
At least 16 residential houses and government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-meter-long bridge, and over a dozen vehicles were also damaged in the flash floods.
The annual Machail Mata yatra, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to conclude on September 5, remained suspended for the third consecutive day on Saturday. The 8.5-kilometre trek to the 9,500-foot-high shrine starts from Chisoti, located about 90 kilometres from Kishtwar town.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh reviewed the rescue and relief operations in Jammu and Kashmir's cloudburst-hit Kishtwar district, and said the priority was to trace the people still missing and believed to be buried under the debris.
"I think a disaster of this scale was never witnessed, at least in this part of the country, and it took everybody by surprise... the priority is to trace the people who are still missing," Singh told reporters at the village.
Stating that many people are still buried under the debris, he appreciated the rescuers and said they have swung into action despite all the constraints.
Asked about the relief package for cloudburst victims, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken concrete steps, convened meetings and received a detailed briefing on Friday.
"Soon after I came out of the Independence Day programme, the first thing I did was to rush over here... So, you can understand the kind of priority and urgency the Modi government is giving to this calamity," he said.
In response to a question about the possible visit of PM Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah, he said the conditions are not very compatible for VVIP visits.
