Search ops underway in Paddar, death toll 65
Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Aug 20: While the search operation continued in cloudburst- hit Chashoti village in Paddar area of Kishtwar district on the 7th consecutive day today, with the death of seriously injured woman from Chashoti village in GMC Jammu today, the death toll in natural calamity has reached 65, whereas, heavy rain triggered floods and landslides in various areas of the region disrupting traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
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Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar, Pankaj Sharma said that the death toll in the natural calamity that struck the last motorable village en-route to Machail Mata temple on August 14, today reached 65. He said 42-year-old Rajjo Devi, wife of Kuldip Singh, resident of Chashoti village in Paddar succumbed to her injuries in GMC Jammu this evening. She was rescued alive from the mudslides after cloudburst on August 14 and was removed to GMC Jammu the same day.
SHO Paddar, Amrit Katoch said that no dead body was recovered today from the site of cloudburst but a middle aged woman, Rajjo Devi passed away in Jammu hospital. Her body is being shifted to her home village Chashoti from GMC Jammu tonight, he added.
Pankaj Sharma, who is supervising operation at the site since August 14 along with SSP Kishtwar Naresh Singh and SDM Paddar Amit Bhagat besides SDPO Ravinder Singh Manhas said that there was rain during morning hours but despite drizzle the operation remained in progress. He said the number of boulder breaking machines has been increased to five and some loaders have also been procured for the extended operation.
“The search on day seven started with early morning showers but later the sun came out and the rescuers fanned out on the assigned locations to look for the missing persons believed to be buried under the rubble or washed away in the stream,” an official at the site said.
The search operation was extended on Tuesday to cover the entire 22-km stretch of the stream from Chashoti to Gulabgarh, following the recovery of two bodies downstream over the past two days, the official said.
The rescue teams are working at multiple locations, especially the major impact spot near a Langar (community kitchen) site, sifting through the debris using heavy machinery, including earth movers and sniffer dogs.
Principal Secretary, Home, Chandraker Bharti on Wednesday chaired an hour-long meeting with senior civil, police, Army and paramilitary force officers in Kishtwar town and discussed the ongoing rescue and relief operation in detail.
Bharti visited cloudburst-hit Chashoti village following an order issued by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday and undertook a comprehensive assessment of the ground situation there.
The official engaged with local residents and held detailed interactions with rescue personnel and civil administration teams, besides evaluating the immediate requirements of the affected families to ensure the timely delivery of relief measures.
The Principal Secretary underscored the need for a swift, coordinated and sustained response from all departments and agencies concerned to maximise rescue outcomes and accelerate relief and rehabilitation efforts.
The flash-floods triggered by the cloudburst left a trail of destruction, flattening a makeshift market, a Langar site for the annual Machail Mata yatra, damaging at least 15 houses and Government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a motorable bridge, besides over a dozen vehicles.
The joint teams of Police, Army, NDRF, SDRF, CISF, BRO, Civil Administration, Apda Mitra agency and local volunteers are engaged in the rescue efforts.
Army and GREF engineers have built a Bailey bridge over Chashoti nullah, providing much-needed connectivity to the village and the Machail Mata shrine. The Army has also inducted a couple of all-terrain vehicles as part of the efforts to intensify the rescue operation.
The rescuers also conducted over a dozen controlled explosions to blow up big boulders hampering the search, an official said.
The annual Machail Mata yatra, which began on July 25, was scheduled to conclude on September 5. But it remained suspended for the 7th consecutive day on Wednesday. However, the authorities will allow a group of devotees carrying ‘Chharri’ from Jammu which is expected to reach the shrine on Thursday.
Meanwhile, heavy rains across various districts in Jammu region have triggered flash floods in many rivers and Nallahs along with incidents of landslides and traffic disruptions on Wednesday.
Rain has also caused damage to structures, blocked the Mughal Road and also interrupted the vehicular movement on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
Torrential rain in Jammu turned a stretch of the highway near the Ban Toll Plaza into a river-like flow, bringing the traffic movement to a halt and causing major inconvenience to commuters, an official said.
A landslide at Nandni tunnel disrupted traffic briefly as debris were removed to restore movement of traffic. There was also another landslides in Chenani and Ramban areas which were cleared shortly.
The upper wall of a school was damaged due to rain in the Dogra Hall area of Jammu, but there was no injury to anyone as the school was yet to start for the day. The rain during morning hours in Jammu caused water logging at many places disrupting smooth movement of vehicles.
The Mughal Road connecting the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch with the Kashmir valley was closed for traffic movement after a huge landslide in Ratta Chhamb near of Pir Ki Gali, reports from Poonch said
Due to this, several vehicles were stranded in the Pir Ki Gali area, but the road was cleared in the afternoon.
In Kishtwar district, traffic movement on the highway was disrupted after a landslide struck near Mughal Maidan in the Khanpura area of the district, prompting authorities to speed up clearance operations.
In Jammu, Reasi, Samba and Kathua districts, rivers and drains, including Chenab, Tawi, Ujh and Basantar, were over flowing. The land erosion was reported from some areas but no loss of life has been reported.
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