Four bodies recovered from landslide debris in Kullu bazaar

The bodies of Bekar Ahmed Mir, a native of Kupwara in Kashmir, and Narender Thakur, a resident of Beasar village in Kullu, were recovered today from the debris of a devastating landslide that occurred on the night of September 2. Two rooms of Neelkanth Sood’s house in Inner Akhara Bazaar were completely destroyed while a couple of other buildings were also damaged in the incident.

In another landslide that had occurred in the same locality on the morning of September 4, the bodies of Hussain and Tahir Shekh from Ganderbal and Bandipur in Kashmir, respectively, were also recovered.

Yesterday, rescue teams had recovered the bodies of Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Sajad Ahmad Wani, both from Ganderbal, and Suman, a local resident. All three were buried under the rubble of the landslide.

Mourners gathered as Suman’s mutilated body was brought out of the debris; her family was inconsolable. Rashid Sheikh’s brother broke down at the landslide site while local residents expressed deep anguish over the tragedy. They alleged that the incident could have been prevented had their repeated calls for preventive measures been heeded to.

This morning, three bodies were transported to Srinagar. Kullu Deputy Commissioner Torul S Ravish said that the bodies of Abdul Rashid Sheikh, Sajad Ahmad Wani and Mehrajuddin Lone were transported by road to Chandigarh late Friday night and from there, they were flown to Srinagar at 5.30 am today. The bodies reached the Srinagar airport by 7.30 am. Due to non-operational helicopter services and a yellow alert for heavy rain issued by the Meteorological Department, the bodies were shifted by road in the presence of the police and the victims’ relatives.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the state government had made all necessary arrangements for the transportation of the bodies and the aggrieved families to their native villages. The district administration had also provided immediate relief. “This was a tragic incident. The state government stands with the bereaved families during this difficult time,” he added.

She said that eight persons were buried under debris while one person was killed in the two landslides on September 2 and 4. She added that the teams of the Kullu administration, NDRF, police and disaster management continuously engaged in relief and rescue operations to recover the bodies.