1 more body recovered, Kishtwar cloudburst toll rises to 64: Officials
JAMMU, Aug. 19 -- With the recovery of one more body on Monday, the death toll in the cloudburst-hit Chishoti village of Kishtwar has mounted to 64, said officials.
"We recovered one more body today from the debris in Chishoti taking the toll to 64 so far. While search operations continued for the fifth consecutive day today, we don't have any exact figures of missing pilgrims," said a police officer."The identity of the body has not been ascertained so far. It's in bad shape", he added.
On August 14, a massive cloudburst pummeled Chishoti village and flattened everything that came in its path.
Amid public outrage over VVIP visits that hampered rescue operations, J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, on Monday, deployed home secretary Chandrekar Bharti and additional chief secretary Shaleen Kabra among eight senior IAS and IPS officers to speed up relief and rescue operations.
Sinha has deputed four senior IAS officers and an equal number of IPS officers to supervise the ongoing relief and rescue operations in the aftermath of the recent tragic cloudburst.
According to a government order, the officers will oversee operations for the next eight days from August 19 to 26.
On August 19 and 20, Chandraker Bharti, principal secretary to the government, home department, along with Uttam Chand, inspector general of police (operations & services), will be on duty. On August 21 and 22, Anil Kumar Singh, principal secretary, public works (R&B) department, and Sujit Kumar, inspector general of police (security), will supervise the measures.On August 23 and 24, Shaleen Kabra, financial commissioner (additional chief secretary), Jal Shakti department and M. Suleman Choudhary, inspector general of police (traffic) will oversee operations. And, on August 25 and 26, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, secretary, science & technology department, and Vivek Gupta, inspector general of police (Railways) will monitor relief and rescue work.
On Sunday, the army successfully completed construction of a bailey bridge over Chishoti Nullah (rivulet), restoring vital connectivity to the affected area.
"In continuation with relief operations at Chishoti village, the troops of the White Knight Corps have intensified rescue and relief efforts. Engineer bridging teams of the White Knight Corps along with equipment started construction of the bridge at the site of Chishoti Nullah that was completed on Sunday," said an officer.
At Kathua, the administration expedited restoration works, a day after torrential rains left seven people dead and 16 injured. Kathua district commissioner Rajesh Sharma said, "Restoration work has been speeded up. Heavy rains on Sunday had caused massive damage to the infrastructure". Sharma also informed that ex gratia relief announced by the CM is being transferred digitally into the bank accounts of immediate kin of the victims.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah has announced ex gratia assistance from the CM's Relief Fund, in addition to SDRF support. Rs.2 lakh for each deceased; Rs.1 lakh for those severely injured; Rs.50,000 for minor injuries. Rs.1 lakh for fully damaged houses; Rs.50,000 for severely damaged houses; Rs.25,000 for partially damaged houses. The Met department has forecast light to moderate rain and thunder at most places with intense showers and heavy rain at few places of Jammu Division including Jammu, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch, Samba and Kathua districts till Tuesday.It has also predicted moderate to heavy and intense showers over Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban and a few places of Kashmir Division with gusty winds. In view of the inclement and bad weather conditions, the directorate of school education has ordered that all the government as well as private schools of Jammu division (all 10 districts) shall continue to remain closed till Tuesday.
Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary, on Monday, visited Ghatu and Jod Khad villages in Kathua district, which was severely affected by a landslide triggered by a cloudburst. Choudhary took stock of the situation, interacted with the displaced families currently housed in relief camps, and assured them of full government support for their relief and rehabilitation....
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