Excelsior Correspondent
POONCH, Jan 23: Senior BJP leader and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Gulam Ali Khatana, during his three-day visit to Poonch district, was stranded at Bhimber Gali for nearly four hours today due to 4-6 inches of snowfall, forcing him to return back to Jammu.
Hundreds of vehicles-including buses, small vehicles, and trucks-were stopped by the administration. Elderly persons, women, children, and passengers remained stranded on the road under harsh weather conditions. Shockingly, no snow clearance machinery, crane, or deployment of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was present on the spot.
Khatana noted that no civil, police, or district administration officials from Rajouri or Poonch were present on the ground to manage the situation. The only official seen at the site was Naib Tehsildar Ajay Kumar of Bhatta Durian Niabat, near Bhimber Gali.
Expressing strong anguish, MP flayed the Civil Administration, Police, BRO, and other concerned departments of the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri for remaining confined to offices instead of responding on the ground, even during a minor spell of snowfall.
He stated that stranded people were crying for help, a situation he witnessed personally, and termed it a serious administrative failure. He also criticised the Chief Minister, alleging that disaster management mechanisms were completely missing, resulting in immense hardship to common people, even during a small weather disturbance.
Khatana demanded immediate accountability, advance deployment of snow clearance resources, and round-the-clock presence of administration in vulnerable border and hilly areas to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
