Little hope to find survivors, says CM Omar on Kishtwar tragedy

As the extensive rescue and relief operation enters its sixth day in the cloudburst-hit Chositi village of Kishtwar district, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said there was little hope of finding any survivors. He also announced that a team of experts will be set up to identify the most vulnerable areas to prevent such tragedies in the future.

“There are about 70 people missing in Kishtwar. With each passing day, we now assume it is almost impossible to find them alive,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar on Tuesday.

He added that under the circumstances, the focus is on recovering the bodies of the missing and ensuring that they are handed over to their families so that proper last rites can be performed.

As many as 64 people have died so far after a powerful flashflood, triggered by a cloudburst, hit Chositi village on August 14.

Omar said locals had raised several issues during his visit to Chositi, and the authorities would consider providing assistance wherever possible.

Responding to questions about the cause of the incident, Abdullah said that, according to reports, the Kishtwar tragedy was due to a cloudburst and not the bursting of glacial lakes.

“We now have to appoint a team of experts to identify the most vulnerable areas. A few months ago, we witnessed a similar event in Ramban, which caused significant financial loss. This time, however, there has been human loss, especially since the Yatra was ongoing in the area,” he explained.

On the controversy surrounding NCERT’s changes to chapters about Partition, Abdullah said, “Fiddling with history is wrong, especially when done by politicians. Politics should be kept out of history.”

He elaborated, “Governments change — today or tomorrow, it will change. No government is forever. Let’s presume there will be a government that is not of the BJP and it will start writing chapters against RSS. Then what will you do?

“Then again, these chapters will be removed and new chapters will be inserted. As far as possible, it should be kept away from politics. Whatever our history is, let the students learn that. After that, let the kids decide what is right and what is wrong,” he said.

Responding to a question, Abdullah said the INDIA bloc candidate should win the upcoming election for the Vice President.

“The election will take place. We do not understand why this election was imposed on us? VP Dhankar left so suddenly and he has not been seen since.

“I have had a chance to interact with him and I will pray for his good health. As far as the election is concerned, the INDIA bloc candidate should win,” he said.

Addressing the opposition’s criticism of his Independence Day speech, particularly about the signature campaign for the restoration of statehood, the Chief Minister said, “The opposition’s job is to oppose. They do not want statehood, nor do they want us to engage with the people. Earlier, they asked, ‘Why are you not doing anything?’ Now that we want to meet people, they oppose it. Our job is to work for the people; theirs is to oppose.”