Chisoti (JK), Aug 17: The death toll from the devastating cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district has risen to 61, as rescue operations continued into the fourth day on Sunday.
The disaster, which struck the Chisoti area on August 14—located en route to the Machail Mata shrine—also left over 100 people injured and 50 still missing. Officials reported that three more controlled blasts were carried out to remove boulders obstructing the rescue operations, especially near a langar (community kitchen) site that was worst hit.
The flash floods caused by the cloudburst wreaked havoc in Chisoti, flattening a makeshift market, damaging 16 houses, government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre-long bridge, and over a dozen vehicles. Bodies of three victims remain unidentified.
The Army, in coordination with NDRF, SDRF, police, BRO, civil administration, and local volunteers, is leading the massive rescue effort. More than a dozen earth-movers and heavy machinery are being used. Army engineers are also constructing a 17-metre-long bailey bridge to restore access to Chisoti village and the Machail Mata shrine. The bridge is expected to be completed by Sunday evening.
Major General A.P.S. Bal, GOC of the Army’s Delta Force, said the Army responded within 45 minutes of the disaster and is committed to providing rescue assistance, food, and medicines. He emphasized a “whole of nation approach” to managing crises of this scale.
Political leaders, including J&K Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra, working president Raman Bhalla, and former BJP state chief Ravinder Raina, visited the affected area. Karra called for the disaster to be declared a “national calamity” and demanded appropriate compensation for victims. He also raised concerns about the government’s failure to declare the Kishtwar-Machail road a national highway despite repeated proposals, and questioned why the yatra was allowed to continue despite weather warnings.
The annual Machail Mata Yatra, which began on July 25 and was to conclude on September 5, remains suspended for the fourth consecutive day due to the disaster. The trek to the shrine starts from Chisoti and spans 8.5 km, reaching an altitude of 9,500 feet.
Authorities continue to search for the missing as rescue and relief operations persist under challenging weather and terrain conditions. (PTI)
