Kishtwar cloudburst toll 61; search for trapped victims continues on Day 4

The death toll due to a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district rose to 61, as rescuers continued operations for the fourth day on Sunday, effecting three more blasts to blow up boulders around a major impact spot, officials said.

Army engineers have started working on a bailey bridge to restore connectivity to Chisoti village and the Machail Mata shrine and further intensify the rescue efforts.

With the recovery of another body from the debris, the officials on Sunday said the death toll has risen to 61.

The cloudburst struck Chisoti, the last motorable village en route the Machail Mata temple, on August 14, leaving over 100 injured, other than the fatalities.

The number of missing persons has come down to 50, while the bodies of three persons still remain unidentified.

The flash floods triggered by the cloudburst left a trail of destruction, flattening a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen) site for the Machail Mata Yatra, damaging 16 houses and government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre-long bridge and more than a dozen vehicles.

The rescuers conducted three more controlled explosions within a span of 45 minutes to blow up giant boulders hampering the search operation, especially near the worst-hit langer site, the officials said.

Despite overcast conditions, the joint teams of police, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), civil administration and local volunteers are continuing the rescue efforts.

The rescuers are utilising more than a dozen earth-movers and other heavy equipment, while the NDRF has mobilised its resources, including dog squads, to speed up the rescue operation.

The work on the bailey bridge is going on at full speed and was only halted when the rescuers went for controlled explosions to detonate the huge boulders, the officials said.

General Officer Commanding of the Army's counter-insurgency Delta Force, Major General A P S Bal, said Army engineers conducted a survey of the area after the need for a bridge was felt.

“We need a 17-metre bridge, which will be installed to facilitate smooth movement across the river,” the officer said, adding that the structure will be completed by Sunday evening.

He also said the Army responded to the disaster within 45 minutes after getting the information.

“We are here because of the people. As you know, our country's policy nowadays is a whole of nation approach. So, if there is any security issue, not just physical security but all kinds of security, the whole of nation approach has to be followed,” the GOC said.

"Besides saving lives, we are also providing the affected people with medicines, food, and all kinds of things that we can provide,” he said.

Meanwhile, political leaders from different parties, including J-K Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra, party's working president Raman Bhalla, and former J-K BJP chief Ravinder Raina, visited Chisoti on Sunday. Karra demanded to declare the disaster a “national calamity” and the victims be accordingly compensated.

The incident also raises certain questions, which need to be answered, he said.

“Why the road connecting Kishtwar and Machail was not declared a national highway given its importance even as a project report was submitted to the concerned authorities over a decade ago? Secondly, why was the yatra not stopped despite an adverse weather warning,” Karra asked.

The Congress leader said the government cannot ignore the issues concerning the environment to safeguard the fragile ecology of the hilly region.

“We should avoid playing with the Nature,” Karra said, adding that they would submit a detailed report to the Congress high command on reaching Jammu.