Unable to visit cloudburst-hit village, DM reviews situation through VC
*Says PM Modi concerned, monitoring situation
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 24: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is reported to have assured takeover of Kishtwar-Chashoti road by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in view of increased rush of pilgrims to Shri Machail Mata Ji Shrine and construction of Army Goodwill School at cloudburst-hit Chashoti where 65 persons were killed and 32 others are still missing since the tragedy struck there in the afternoon of August 14.
Rajnath, who reached here this afternoon, was unable to proceed to Chashoti as per schedule due to adverse weather conditions and reviewed post flashfloods situation from Raj Bhawan along with Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
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Senior Army officers including Northern Command chief Lt Gen Pratik Sharma and Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo attended the meeting among other senior Army and Civil administration officials at Raj Bhawan while other officials joined from Gulabgarh through virtual mode.
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Rajnath was scheduled to preside over the high-level meeting at Gulabgarh after visiting Chashoti but had to cancel the visit there because of weather conditions.
Initially, the Defence Minister’s plane on way from New Delhi to Jammu developed technical snag midair and returned to New Delhi. He reached here in another plane and visited the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu along with Dr Jitendra Singh and Manoj Sinha and enquired condition of the persons injured in Chashoti cloudburst tragedy.
Rajnath Singh is reported to have assured that the BRO will take over Kishtwar-Chashoti road due to increased rush of pilgrims to Shri Machail Mata Ji Shrine as the pilgrimage was expected to touch close to the numbers of Shri Amarnath Ji cave shrine pilgrimage in South Kashmir Himalayas this year till the tragedy struck at Chashoti on August 14.
The present road has been constructed under Prime Minister’s Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). An under-construction bridge at Chashoti was also washed away in the flashflood triggered by the cloudburst.
The Defence Minister is also understood to have agreed to the demand for setting up of an Army Goodwill School at Chashoti where large-scale devastation has been caused by the floods.
While existing mobile towers have been restored or are being restored, more mobile towers will also be set up in the area for increased connectivity. Water and electricity supply have also been restored in most of the areas.
Rajnath said the Central Government is making all efforts to provide relief and rehabilitation to those affected by the cloudburst followed by flashfloods at Chashoti in Kishtwar district on August 14.
“It is heartening to note that the State Administration, Army, NDRF, SDRF, J&K Police have done excellent work during the crisis situation. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the Central Government is leaving no stone unturned in providing relief and rehabilitation to those who have been affected by this tragic incident,” the Defence Minister said in a post on X.
He said due to inclement weather, he could not go to the cloudburst affected areas of Kishtwar today.
“Reviewed the situation at Chashoti from Jammu, via video conferencing facility,” Singh said in the post.
Earlier, in a brief chat with media persons outside the Government Medical College Jammu after enquiring condition of the persons injured in Chashoti flashfloods, Rajnath said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very concerned about the recent cloudburst in Chashoti, Kishtwar.
Expressing satisfaction over the treatment of the injured, he said his plan to visit the cloudburst-hit area could not materialize due to inclement weather and a fresh landslide on the road en route.
After landing here from Delhi, the Defence Minister went straight to the hospital to meet the 16 people undergoing treatment there. He was briefed by a team of doctors on the condition of the patients.
Rajnath said, “The Prime Minister is very concerned and is monitoring the situation. I had planned to visit the spot but couldn’t due to inclement weather and a landslide (at Pathernaki)… We are now going to the Raj Bhavan where we will talk to the (affected) people through video conferencing.”
Lauding the doctors for taking good care of those admitted to the hospital after the incident, the Defence Minister said the injured people are recuperating satisfactorily.
Flash floods triggered by the cloudburst struck Chashoti, the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple, on August 14, killing 65 people, mostly pilgrims, and leaving more than 100 injured.
A large-scale search operation is underway for 32 people reported missing by their families after the tragedy. A makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen) site for the annual pilgrimage to the Machail Mata temple, 16 houses and Government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre-long bridge and more than a dozen vehicles were also damaged in the incident.
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