Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that rescue and relief operations in Kishtwar continued “well past midnight” after a devastating cloudburst struck the district earlier this week, leaving more than 60 people dead.
A massive cloudburst hit Chasoti village in Kishtwar district on Thursday. The incident, which occurred along the Machail Mata Yatra route, triggered flash floods and widespread destruction, causing heavy casualties among yatris and residents.
In a post on X, Singh wrote, “It is well past midnight, and the rescue relief operations are going on in full swing. I deeply appreciate the courageous effort of the Military, Paramilitary forces, Jammu & Kashmir Police and the administration, who have left no stone unturned in doing whatever best they could do in this precarious situation, marked by a natural calamity coupled with natural constraints of difficult hilly terrain, inadequate connectivity and inclement weather.”
The minister also expressed gratitude to local residents, who were the first to respond when the disaster struck suddenly.
“Equal appreciation is due to the local residents, who were the first to swing into action when everyone was taken by surprise by a massive fatal cloudburst on the afternoon of the 14th August,” he wrote on X.
Singh said it was reassuring that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally monitoring the situation.
“What can be more reassuring than the thought that PM Sh @Narendramodi is personally monitoring the situation. Infact, it was only after 2014 that with the Centre’s intervention, the holy Machhail Yatra vicinity was provided road connectivity, mobile towers, electricity, basic amenities like drinking water and toilets etc.”
Singh said in his message, “All help is being provided to the affected. But can’t get back the dear ones lost… Already 53 bodies have been recovered and officially declared dead. Scary to think how many more are still buried in the debris and how many instantly washed away within those deadly 15 seconds.”
Meanwhile, the Army, along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local police and district administration, are carrying out rescue operations in Chasoti village of Kishtwar district after a devastating flash flood triggered by a cloudburst. (ANI)
