JAMMU/NEW DELHI, Aug 30: At least 11 people, including seven of a family, died in two incidents of cloudburst and landslide triggered by heavy rains in remote villages of Reasi and Ramban districts, as Jammu and Kashmir, beset by a series of natural calamities in the past fortnight, labours to bring life back on track.
The Union Territory has been reeling under a series of cloudbursts and landslides since August 14.
With the latest incidents, 130 people have lost their lives and 140 were injured in Jammu, while 32 pilgrims are still missing.
The pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district remained suspended for the fifth day on Saturday.
As many as 34 pilgrims died when a landslide struck about halfway along the winding 12-km trek route from Katra to the shrine on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has directed officials to ensure round-the-clock monitoring of the situation and carry out timely evacuation of people from risk-prone zones.
The record rainfall across the Jammu region earlier this week left a trail of devastation, with hundreds of properties damaged and dozens of roads and bridges washed away, forcing the suspension of traffic on key highways, besides virtually paralysing the rail traffic.
Early on Saturday, a landslide flattened a house in the remote Badder village in Reasi district, killing seven members of a family, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Nazir Ahmad (38), his wife Wazira Begum (35) and their sons Bilal Ahmed (13), Mohd Mustafa (11), Mohd Adil (8), Mohd Mubarak (6) and Mohd Wasim (5).
Nazir and his family were asleep when their house on a hill slope came under the debris brought down by the landslide, burying them alive, the officials said, adding the locals frantically searched the debris and were later joined by police, but only managed to pull out the bodies.
In Ramban district, four people, including two brothers, died after a cloudburst struck a remote village, damaging two houses and a school.
The cloudburst triggered flash floods in the mountainous Rajgarh, located about 25 kilometres from the district headquarters, around 11.30 pm on Friday.
The officials identified the deceased as Ashwani Sharma (24), his brother Dwarka Nath (55), niece Virta Devi (26) and their guest Om Raj (38), a resident of Banshara in Rajgarh.
The rescuers are searching for Sharma’s sister-in-law, Bidya Devi (55).
“The cloudburst happened on the hilltop village near the primary school and created a fast-flowing stream through the Drubla-Gudgram village, washing away two residential houses, a cowshed and the school building,” Ajay Kumar, a local, said.
Union minister Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have expressed grief over the incidents and assured all possible assistance to the affected families.
Taking note of the incessant heavy rains, the chief minister appealed to people to remain alert, avoid vulnerable areas, and strictly adhere to safety advisories.
Abdullah has instructed the departments concerned to remain vigilant, coordinate closely with each other, and take every precautionary measure to safeguard lives during the ongoing inclement weather.
Uttarakhand
A day after heavy rains and a series of cloudbursts left a trail of destruction in various districts of Uttarakhand, rescuers frantically searched for the missing through knee-high debris at the break of daylight on Saturday.
Six people died and 11 went missing in heavy rains, landslides and cloudbursts that pounded Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and Tehri districts early on Friday.
Breached roads delayed the arrival of rescue teams comprising SDRF and DDRF personnel to the affected areas on Friday.
However, with the weather improving on Saturday in Chamoli and Rudraprayag, search and rescue efforts are likely to gather pace, officials here said.
“Knee-high debris has accumulated in the Chenagad market area, where more than 10 shops and dhabas were completely washed away in the disaster.
The roads are also breached.
“Our focus is to restore the road access to the affected area so that heavy machines can be moved there to clear the rubble,” Rudraprayag District Magistrate Prateek Jain said.
In the absence of heavy machinery, it would be too difficult to reach those hanging on to their dear lives trapped under the debris, he said.
While eight people are reported missing in the rain-ravaged parts of Rudraprayag, three are unaccounted for in Bageshwar district.
Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Bageshwar districts reported five deaths on Friday, while the body of a 10-year-old boy was recovered from a river in Dehradun. (PTI)