According to officials, the number of people killed in a cloudburst in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir has increased to 61 as rescuers continued their efforts for the fourth day on Sunday, using three more blasts to detonate boulders around a major impact spot. Engineers from the Army have begun construction on a bailey bridge to intensify rescue efforts and restore connectivity to Chisoti village and the Machail Mata shrine.
Officials reported on Sunday that the death toll had risen to 61 following the discovery of yet another body among the rubble. On August 14, the cloudburst struck Chisoti, the last motorable village on the way to the Machail Mata temple. In addition to the fatalities, over 100 people were injured. 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.
The joint teams of the police, the army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the civil administration, and volunteers from the area are continuing the rescue efforts despite the cloudy weather. 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.
Officials stated that controlled explosions were used by rescuers to detonate the massive boulders, and that work on the Bailey Bridge continued unabated. 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.
The officer stated, "We need a 17-meter bridge, which will be installed to facilitate smooth movement across the river," and that the structure would be finished by Sunday evening. In addition, he stated that the Army responded to the catastrophe within forty-five minutes of receiving the information. "The people are the reason we are here. As you are aware, our nation's policy today takes an all-nation approach. Therefore, "the whole of nation approach must be followed if there is any security issue, not just physical security but all forms of security," the GOC stated. He added, "In addition to saving lives, we are also providing the affected people with medicines, food, and everything else we can provide." In the meantime, political leaders from various parties paid a visit to Chisoti on Sunday, including J-K Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra, party working president Raman Bhalla, and former J-K BJP chief Ravinder Raina.
Karra demanded that the disaster be declared a "national calamity" and that the victims be compensated accordingly. He added that the incident also raises some questions that require answers. “Despite the fact that a project report was submitted to the concerned authorities more than a decade ago, the road connecting Kishtwar and Machail was not declared a national highway? Second, Karra inquired, "Why was the yatra not stopped despite a weather warning?" The leader of the Congress stated that in order to safeguard the fragile ecology of the hilly region, the government cannot ignore environmental issues. “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.