Jammu, Aug 22 :
Nine days after a devastating cloudburst hit Chishoti village in Jammu Kashmir’s Kishtwar, rescue teams are holding their ground, trying to get some success in the search for missing persons and retrieving the bodies. On the other hand, the families of 32 missing people wait anxiously for closure.
Authorities have widened the search area from the actual flash flood site near the community kitchen (Langar) and adjoining areas to downstream and up to the Chenab River.
The quest for retrieving the bodies of the missing remains the same as it was on day one, August 14, when a cloudburst triggered flash floods and swept away everything that came in front of it.
“We will continue the search operation till the bodies are found, and we should keep hope to get some success, as sniffer dogs, drones and other technology are being used to retrieve bodies,” said Amit Kumar Bhagat, Sub District Magistrate (SDM) Paddar. “Our focus area so far was the Langar area, and now it has shifted to the area along the banks downstream and also those portions which we feel need to be relooked at again,” he said.
On Wednesday, a family from
Kishtwar Cloudburst: Rescue
Reshamgarh Colony, Jammu, reached Chishoti to see their missing relatives, but after hours of waiting, they were unable, as there was no trace of them.
“We are hoping for a miracle to see our missing relatives. After watching the condition on the ground, it looks like there is little chance of their survival, as searching for bodies is becoming a cumbersome job. However, we still have reached the spot with a hope that something unexpected could happen,” said Ravi Kumar.
His sister and six other family members, including four children and two other women, are among the missing.
“A total of eight family members of my sister’s family had gone for the Machail pilgrimage, but they got caught in the floods. The body of one of our relatives was recovered on August 15, but the other seven are still missing,” he added.
The family members of a local priest, Bodh Raj, who is also among the 32 missing people, are keeping eyes on the rescue teams to get his body out of the debris so they can perform his last rites.
“We know that he is no more, as he was inside the Kali temple when the cloudburst hit the area, causing flash floods, washing the premises. However, we want to see him for the one last time. The whole family is waiting for the moment when the body of my grandfather is retrieved from the debris,” Priya Devi, granddaughter of Bodh Raj, told ETV Bharat.
On the ninth day after the flash floods, around 500 personnel of the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Jammu and Kashmir police and civil administration are holding their ground, with 21 excavators currently being used to clear the debris from the vulnerable spots.
On Friday, Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Zone Bhim Sen Tuti again visited the area to oversee the rescue operation and boost the morale of different teams doing their job.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range Shridhar Patil, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Kishtwar Pankaj Sharma and other officials are also camping day and night in the area, ensuring that the morale of rescue workers remains high in the operation, which is getting prolonged.
Officials believe that there are chances that some of the missing persons might have drowned in the Chenab River, and the administration of hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) has also been alerted to keep a close eye on bodies.
“Since day one, the HEPs downstream have been directed to remain vigilant 24 hours a day and keep an eye on the bodies. Furthermore, the NDRF, SDRF, J&K police, and other volunteers are doing the recce, and drones are also being pushed into service to seek for the dead,” Bhagat said. “Even if we can recover one body, it will bring a kind of relief for the families who are waiting.”
Bhagat told ETV Bharat that at present 32 people are still missing, whereas 65 people have died and 115 people were injured. Out of the 65 dead, 62 bodies were handed over to the legal heirs, and a lookout notice has been issued by the SSP Kishtwar for the other three unidentified bodies, which are lying in the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu.
“The DNA sampling of these three bodies is also being done, and a lookout notice was also issued to identify the bodies. A few body parts recovered from the spot are also lying in the GMC Jammu, and DNA sampling of those parts is also in the process,” the SDM said.
